


This Is What We Started

by Hidden_Lion



Category: Assassin's Creed, Assassin's Creed Syndicate - Fandom, Watchdogs_2
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst just hangs there like that old friend, Assassins, DedSec - Freeform, Emanuel " Manny" is a graphics design student, Evie is a graphic design student, F/M, Fernanda is a junior in highschool, Hacking, Happy Ending, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Jacob being Jacob, Jacob is a computer engineering student, Jayadeep & Darim are juniors in college, Jayadeep is a bit out of character, Johan & Marc are assassins and member of DedSec, Johan and Marc are seniors in highschool, Johan is known music producer/DJ, Latino Characters, Latino friends are the best kind of friends you can have, M/M, Manny is junior in college, Many more tags to be added, Mention of Football/Soccer, Multi, Prompt for a friend, References to E3 & EDC, Sibilings, Templars, The Frye twins are freshmen in college, The angst is real in future chapters, There is much feels, soo many tags, the struggle is real, you'll see why - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-06
Updated: 2017-07-23
Packaged: 2018-08-19 19:59:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 73,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8223058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hidden_Lion/pseuds/Hidden_Lion
Summary: Three highschool students are pulled in the adventure of their lives after DedSec receives a message from the Assassin Brotherhood in London; to locate a Piece Of Eden in the Mojave Desert.





	1. Tauro

 

Chapter 1: Tauro

 

5:30 AM, Berkeley, CA

                                                                                                  **Marcus (DedSec)**

        

**Hey Tauro, we have a meeting today at 4:15**

                                                                                                                                

_Why at 4? You know i have soccer practice after school, Marcus_  

 **Don't argue with me, its a life or death situation.**                                                                                    

                                                                                                                     

  But srsly tho, i cant go at 4 i have things to do, cant u wait until 5, plz

 **K, fine but this is the last time, and you know i only do it** **Because Manny is you brother and i respect him.**

 

_Thx, 4 being reasonable, and do i bring Dat_Boi15 and RealFer28 along too?_

**Yes, bring them here; all the DedSec members should hear this**

 

_K, Marcus catch u later, vato_

 

_Just perfect Johan thought  the last thing he needed was another issue to worry about in a Friday; the worst part the LA Galaxy was playing at 5:15 and he couldn't be able to watch the game._

He huffed as he turned on  his computer, he was surprisingly early for once; so he decided to open hid last FL studio project and continue working on it,since music wasn't going to create and post itself; as worked, he got a notification about his brother's Instagram story, and smiled it had been almost 4 long years since he had last seen his brother, which was fine with him; since his grandparents were always comparing them, but he missed his brother sometimes.

Sighing, Johan saved the work completed in his project and turned off his computer; for he was sure as hell it would a really long day, because of AP classes, soccer practice and the DedSec meeting, and with that he left his parent's house.

 

* * *

 

 

1:30 PM, Chelsea, UK

 

" You realize that the binary code you wrote has multiple mistakes don't you?" asked Jayadeep, as he looked down at Darim's work, Darim only rolled his eyes and gave his own response.

" And shouldn't you be helping your girlfriend, Evie?" Darim answered without taking his eyes off the screen as he found and corrected the mistakes in the code.

"What gave you that idea, and for the record she's isn't my girlfriend, Darim " Jayadeep answered looking slightly embarrassed by Darim's comment on the subject; in a way he appreciated having Darim as a friend, after all they had spent much of their lives together, more like brothers than friends, but there were moments in which he couldn't stand the guy.

"Keep telling yourself that vato, but then don't cry when she starts dating another guy" Darim said as he looked up to see Jayadeep.

" You know sometimes I wonder why I'm even friends with you." Jayadeep answered to Darim's comment with a slight grin on his face.

"Because otherwise both of us wouldn't know who to trust in the industry, you know" Darim answered matter of factly before stretching his limbs, and Jayadeep nodded at his words, Darim could really be an idiot sometimes but he was also wise and correct most of the time.

As Jayadeep was distracted watching Darim struggle with the binary code, he realized his phone was buzzing in his jacket; taking out his phone and saw he had a text form his dad that read:

 

_Dad_

 

_Jay we have a meeting at Westminster. Today at 11 PM. Please, Try not be late._

_**Alright, then.**_

 

After typing out a quick reply, sending it and relaying the message to Darim, he decided to go see how Manny was doing, in the Graphics lab; He was used to his Dad being that way, honestly sometimes he wondered if the man actually trusted him with anything at all, after the incident; anyways something things never really change.


	2. DedSec Struggles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tauro, RealFer28 and DAT_Boii15, learn what all the fuss is about during their DedSec meeting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wrote this while listening to KSHMR - Invisible Children,really dope track with melbourne bounce and sick vocal effects, highly recommend to listen if u are into EDM

 

Chapter 2: DedSec Struggles

 

3:45 PM, Chelsea, UK

 

As Jayadeep walked to the Graphics lab, he pondered over the strange meaning of his father's message, a meeting had been no more of three months ago, to which he couldn't go, because the prior week he had been, injured while playing a confederacy game for his college team; which was unfortunate, but at the same time not so much, since he had never been the one to be acknowledged at those meetings,the Council had always stated that if he was willing to get himself killed to save his teammates, then he wasn't fit to be a team leader: since the goal was to accomplish the mission at any cost. Any how he was sure that the Council wasn't calling a meeting to remind the assassins, about sombody's birthday 

As he kept on walking distracted by his thoughts, he didn't realize that he was walking in the wrong side of the hallway and someone ran into him. As he was about to  tell off whoever had ran into him, he realized that it was his fault and he acknowledged who had ran into him.

**_Evie Frye_ **

**_Oh great,_** he thought, _ **nice job Jay, again with your head on the clouds aren't you.**_

He quickly got to his feet and started helping Evie pick up her things, since the incident was entirely his fault, and this was the least he could do for her.

"Hey sorry, for bumping into you, my head was just the clouds apparently; since I cant tell left from right" Jayadeep said with a kind smile, God he really felt like an asshole right now; yep this was entirely his fault, and he heard a little voice in his head saying  _ **Jay you idiot.**_

Evie couldn't help herself to smile when she saw his, it really was a lovely smile, and his beautiful dark brown eyes and...... _**Snap out of it! He is just being nice, nothing else.**_

As Jayadeep picked up her sketchbook, a couple of papers fell out and he picked out some and passed them to Evie; until he finally looked down to the paper that was on his hands, he couldn't help to feel amazed by Evie's skill at sketching, for the sketch, was of a boy looking down at his reflection in the water, and the boy's reflection was a lion.

" That sketch is truly amazing, you're very talented Evie" Jayadeep said as he handed her back her sketch.

Evie smiled and Jayadeep couldn't help himself but to notice the way her blue eyes sparkled whenever she smiled or laughed.

"Thank you, but I believe yours would be better than mine" Evie said, and tried to keep a calm composure, but failed miserably.

"How did you know that?" Jayadeep asked, in a way he really didn't mind her knowing, but he did wanted to know who had told him, since only Darim, Manny, his two cousins and Taegok knew he could draw; so that didn't leave many usual suspected.

" Well Ishpreeth told me about it and she said you wouldn't mind me knowing, you are okay with that right?" Evie asked, she didn't really wanted to seem like she was prying, and to be honest it wasn't like she had asked about, it had been Ishpreeth who had told her during a conversation nothing else.

Jayadeep was quick to notice that Evie wasn't sure how will he react to it,but he knew he really didn't mind her knowing; and he knew he felt that way about it because, he had quite the crush on her; which he had admitted to himself a long time ago,but telling that to her or anyone else, namely Manny would be the end of him.

"I don't really mind, it wouldn't be like you to make fun of my stick figures" Jayadeep answered and smiled.

" I don't mean to pry, but where are going?'' Evie asked.

"Graphics Lab, 'cause someone is gotta check on Manny, so he doesn't slack" Jayadeep answered, sporting a shit eating grin on his face.

At that both of them laughed and went to the Graphics lab together, talking mostly about graphic design,music, Chelsea's victory over Liverpool and the upcoming Manchester Derby.

 

* * *

 

 

6:30 PM, San Francisco Bay Area, CA

Loud EDM music and the sound of a soccer match, greeted the three high school students, into the DedSec hideout; many members old and young were gathered here to hear what Marcus had to say, after exchanging pleasantries with the other members and getting the evil eye from Marcus for being late, typical Marcus the perfectionist time freak. Soon after Marcus ordered everyone to settle down.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we are here today to make a decision over the newest work proposal we have offered." Marcus said, and then added "Theo play the video".

The video was recorded underground by someone who was wearing a mask, to be exact the mask of a crow or maybe a rook, then the curious character introduced himself.

"DedSec my name is Alpha_Rook, and I'm part of the British branch of DedSec but also an assassin as some of you might be, now I know our organization hasn't really been on the best terms with mine, since the Aiden Pearce incident, and I understand that you'll feel very uncomfortable working with us, but the mere thing is we need your assistance. Also I'm very aware that the Brotherhood has voice their distrust over and over. So i will guarantee that no hacker will ever be harmed again either in purpose or  by mistake, for now by my word hackers will be protected and even aided in their crusades to stop a computer program from dominating someone's lives. But everything we ask in return is your help to find a Piece Of Eden in the Mojave Desert in CA. Thank you for you time."

After the video was done everyone started talking at the same time voicing their opinions,fears and doubts.   
  


"We cant trust them!"

"This is a trap to get rid of us as easy as possible! "

"If we help them we might just have the ally we need..."

"This is nonsense we work for ourselves and the people, we aren't the assassin's errand boys"

Glares were thrown to those who were assassins hackers and fights were in the brink of breaking out everywhere on the room, until Marcus with some of Sitara's and Johan's help they were able to calm the crowd enough, so they could start the voting process. Marcus instruction were clear everyone was given one vote in which they could choose with,against or neutral towards helping the assassins.

The voting took a while and without even thinking Johan was silently praying that most hackers would say yes to helping the assassins, after all he was an assassin and knew the kind of things that could happen if a Piece of Eden fell in Templar hands.

The voting was done after an hour and a half, and the tension was palpable in the air; the votes had already being tallied electronically and Marcus was getting ready to pronounce the verdict.

" Well people, about fifty one percent of you votes to help the assassins, 48 percent voted against helping them ,and two percent were neutral or unsure." Marcus declared, he hadn't expected the results, to be this ridiculously close.

After Marcus read out the results there was eerie silence, save the sound of a soccer match going on in the background. After all everyone was waiting for Marcus' decision, since his decision was the make or break,Marcus had always dreaded this situations: because he knew his decision would be accepted for some people but defied by others.

He took a deep breath and voices his decision.

" A team of hackers will be chosen to help the assassins, since the results form the poll were so close." Marcus said, and after that he released a breath he didn't even know he was holding in.

Everyone seemed happy with that decision for once, nodding and talking among them, and Marcus was certainly more relaxed to know that his choice had been agreed upon, for the most part.

 Now the only thing left was to decide which hackers, would help the assassin's and without much thought he had the team he needed  

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys i need you to give me feedback in how i wrote the Henvie cuz i honestly dont know at this point of the late night.


	3. The 0ne

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Assassin's meeting, we get a couple of oh shit moments, and some thing go form 0 to a 100 really quickly on this chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 3 Chapters, in 3 days; sometimes i spoil you guys, way too much.  
> Btw school is fine, but the hw is very loong and time consuming. So srry if don't post when expected.  
> Hope you are fine as well, amig@s!  
> Also i wrote this while listening to LA, LA,LAND by Shaun Frank & DVBBS ft. Delaney Jane.

 

Chapter 3: Th3 0ne

 

11 PM, London, UK

 

 _ **Finally time for the meeting,**_ Darim thought as he stood beside Jayadeep, hating how the chill of night seemed to seep through his clothes and freeze his bones all the way; that was the main reason why he hadn't exactly been thrilled to move to London when he was 16 years old; leaving sunny California , for bleak London. He hated London's weather, while in Cali he would have spent hours playing football outside with his friends, or skateboarding. In London; things weren't anywhere near as fun, but then again he didn't have a choice: **_He had been taught to fight and free-run before he could walk, he was an assassin._**

 **He was the son of a mentor, everyone had high expectations on him to be**   _ **The One.** _

Sighing at how his life had already had been defined by others he looked to his left, where he saw Jayadeep, looking like he usually did: kurta, jeans, Adidas shoes and a leather jacket; but his kurta was far more decorated, than the ones he usually wore. And Darim had to say something about it.

" You know Jay, if I didn't know any better I could swear you are trying to outclass both Manny and I" Darim said as pulled his jacket closer to himself, God he hated London's cold climate.

"Wouldn't be too hard to outclass you both" Jayadeep said with an slight smile, as he saw Darim's indignant expression.

" Well at least I don't...." Darim stopped in the middle of his statement, since he couldn't think of anything witty or snarky to say.

Jayadeep only smiled and turned his attention to his phone.

Just as Jayadeep was typing out a reply, Manny appeared, with someone who they knew too well; Manny's cousin, the Brotherhood's youngest asset; Lucas, a 14 year old freshman in highschool; that everyone underestimated, something he had learned to use to his advantage, often proving people wrong about their opinions regarding him; with huge hacking stunts like the one he had done almost 2 months ago, he had been able to obtain such a large base of evidence about the existence of a Piece of Eden in the Mojave desert: that the Council wasn't just able to ignore, proving to his closest friends, something they already knew; he was just too smart for his own good.

After the assassins greeted each other, and asked Lucas about his apprenticeship with Rebecca; they were finally called inside by Sef, Darim's younger brother, for the meeting to start. The young assassins sighed as they made their way inside; their opinion wasn't valued or even acknowledged, as they were believed to be far too young to have any good ideas, plus they didn't really see the purpose of them going.

Jayadeep was hoping the meeting would end soon,after all, he still had to work to do on the java scripts and binary codes, he was currently working on, which he knew for a fact would be as time consuming as possible; but just he thought he saw a familiar face, but then realized that in fact they were two very familiar faces.

 _ **Evie Frye and her twin, Jacob.**_  

 _ **This can't be happening,**_ he thought, today of all the freaking nights to be there; destiny and the butterfly effect and every single miserable time paradox that one could think of were really conspiring against him.

Without much thought he pulled Darim back into the shadow casted by a nearby wall, and Darim looked at him with an annoyed expression.

"Amigo, you look like you just saw a ghost, and I know for a fact this place isn't haunted" Darim said, a tinge of annoyance could be heard on his voice.

" Why are the Frye twins, here?" Jayadeep asked, as he was starting to think of a excuse to get himself out of the meeting.

"Don't tell me you didn't know?" Darim questioned, his eyebrows raised in surprise; for Jay had always been the one to catch on to things easily.

Jayadeep looked at his friend in confusion, and Darim couldn't help himself but to laugh. So he didn't know, _**of course** _ a little voice in his head said, _**he spent so much time admiring Evie rather than talking to her.**_ And Darim couldn't agree more.

"Jay if you actually talked to Evie instead of admiring her from a distance then maybe, you would have known that." Darim said as he walked over to his place on the Assassin Meeting Room.

Leaving Jayadeep, confused and puzzled over what he'd just say. **_Did he really do that?_**

However the young assassin, realized that there was still a meeting he needed to be present and accounted for, and quickly made his way to the place where he was supposed to be  at, he got there he earned a glare from his dad that for all the world said:  _ **You're late.**_

The Council and it's members, debated about, possible suspects who could have sent the video in which; an assassin hacker asked for help to the Californian hackers to find a Piece Of Eden. At the time Jayadeep wasn't paying attention but was more concerned with laying low.

Eventually the Council came to the decision of conducting an investigation on all of it's members; since critical information had been leaked to the Californian hackers.

Which Jayadeep dreaded, for whenever there was an investigation he was one of the agents to carry it out.

Sighing as he got his folder of possible suspects, from his dad; this meant he wouldn't get enough sleep, he would miss out on a bunch of classes that he needed to pass, and that if his team wasn't able to pinpoint a suspect, he would be blamed for the failure. 

But when he opened the folder and saw the suspects he froze and thought, _**You can't be serious.**_

Arbaaz noticed that and gave his son a frown.

Most of the assassins chosen to be agents, stayed and talked o each other about who they had as suspects; but Jayadeep just left the meeting room without even acknowledging that Darim was also an agent this time around.

Darim didn't fail to notice and went outside after his friend, even though he was perfectly warm where he was.

As soon as Darim caught up with Jayadeep he asked him, if he was okay.

" Hey vato, you alright?" Darim asked, he was mad at him probably, because he hadn't told him Evie was an assassin; but that wasn't his tale to tell.

"Define alright" Jayadeep asked his friend.

" Well not being dead or injured," Darim answered, trying to see what worried his friend.

"Its about people you have to investigate, isn't it?" Darim asked when Jayadeep didn't say anything about his definition of "being alright."

"Yeah, it's that and the fact, that how will I explain to Evie and her brother that I'm an assassin" Jayadeep said as he kept on walking.

" You can't be serious, wait why did we all ended up with similar files; I thought the Council said every member, not those just below the age of 28?" Darim said, as he had to investigate Raveen, Ishpreeth, Narash and Lucas.

"I don't know, but you are welcome to ask them" Jayadeep answered. Darim didn't answer but instead frowned in deep thought at the why of it.

"Hey Darim, would you do a favor for me?" Jayadeep asked as he saw Darim frown in thought.

"Yeah what would it be?" Darim asked absentminded.

" If my dad asks where I went, say that you don't know; because I'm sure the man would want to give me a lecture for being 5 minutes late." Jayadeep said, and Darim didn't verbally answered, but at least nodded.

 After Jayadeep had left, Darim decided to go back inside; since he couldn't do much thinking whenever he was worried about becoming a block of ice. Once inside, and while making it's way to his dad to ask why only members under 28 were being investigated, when the Council assured everyone that  it was a collective  investigation.

But he was snapped out of his reverie when Evie called his name. At that moment Darim realized why, she had seen Jay; and he would have to be the one to try and explain that.

" Darim, can I ask you something?" Evie said, as she internally chastised herself for letting Jacob record the stupid video.

" Yeah, ask away" Darim answered as he tried to get his brain to work out a possible explanation.

"Can you give me Jay's phone number " Evie said; at this point her brother and herself where between a rock and a hard place, and pretty much out of options. She needed to talk to him.

" Yeah of course" Darim answered as he let out a breath he didn't even knew he was holding in; now of all things considered he wasn't expecting that, but was suddenly grateful for whatever was going on.

" Thank you" Evie replied and went her way.

Darim was left standing there, having no idea what had just happened.

 

* * *

 

 

7:30, Chelsea, UK

Jayadeep was awoken by the sound of his alarm, and he wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep; he had gotten home so late yesterday, and had to continue working in his second quarter computer engineering project that consisted of creating a java script and binary code; which was going to be counted as a project and test grade, which he couldn't afford to fail. After he had made some good progress, he crashed around 5:30 AM.

Anyways he had work to do for the brotherhood, investigating possible suspects; now that was the main problem, how the hell was he supposed to explain to the twins he wasn't who he said he was. As he got up and checked his phone he saw that he had a message form an unknown number.

**Unknown Number**

_**Jay, I need to talk to you** _

_Who is this?_

**_It's me, Evie_ **

_Um sorry for not answering, I got home really late, and had to work on computer engineering project._

**_It's fine, I knew why you didn't answer straight away, you were at the meeting._ **

 

At that moment Jayadeep, felt that all his efforts to lay low had been more or less fruitless. Now he had also to explain this to her, _**Just great!** _ he thought.

_I can explain  why I was there_

**_It's fine, I knew you were an assassin; Manny told me, anyways that's not the point._ **

**_I need to talk to you and I swear its a life or death matter._ **

_Um, so what is it about?_

**_Who are you supposed to investigate, for the leaking of information?_ **

**** _You and your brother._

_Why?_

**_I think this is something I rather say to you, face to face than through the phone._ **

_Alright, where do you want to meet?_

**_How about the Kenway mansion, is that okay with you?_ **

_No problem, I'll be there at 10:30_

**_Jay?_ **

_?_

**_Thank You_ **

 

After reading Evie's reply, he ran a hand trough his hair and sighed; why was life always this never ending game of cat and mouse and complication after complication, Jayadeep decided that the investigation the Council had requested, could wait; he needed to go talk to Evie.

* * *

 

 

10:30 AM, Kenway Mansion, London, UK

Jayadeep got to the Kenway mansion, in time and while he waited for Evie to arrive, Connor asked him what he was doing here, after all Connor was one of the assassins, whose house was used for some meetings .

"Well, I'm supposed to meet someone here" Jayadeep said, as he tried to keep his nerves with a lid on.

"That much I figured out, I mean why?" Connor asked as he looked down at his phone, as he typed out a reply to Aveline.

"That I don't know, but I guess I will soon." Jayadeep answered as he saw Evie walking towards him.

"Hey" Evie said with a nervous smile, half wondering if he would help her.

"Hey" Jayadeep answered, as he tried not to think about this meeting as a date, which he would very much like to.

" So what do you need to talk about." Jayadeep asked, and Evie nodded in Connor's direction, Connor nodded back.

" I'll tell you in the Meeting Room" Evie answered, and Connor asked them to follow him.

Jayadeep now just realized why Evie wanted to meet her, and Connor had asked why, he must have known, and as always, he was the last one to know something.

The went to one of the rooms, where Connor played a tune in the piano, which Jayadeep recognized as the Lowlands melody; and an secret passage opened on the floor.leading down to a chamber.

Jayadeep being the gentleman he was, allowed Evie to go first; and then entered himself, the last on to enter was Connor; and he sealed the passage with a lever. Now being here really felt like you were in The Age Of Pirates, and his curiosity go the best of him, when he asked if that was the real Jackdaw flag. Connor smirked and answered that it was, that in fact everything there was on the room was real.

" So what do you want to tell me Evie?" Jayadeep asked, trying to look as calm and unruffled as possible.

Without saying a word, Evie turned the laptop that was resting over the table, on his direction; and hit play, the video was the one the entire Brotherhood had been taking about, but they never showed it. Jayadeep watched silently. The only sounds in the room the voice of the speaker, and their breathing.

When the video was over, Evie finally spoke.

"Jay, this is what I wanted to talk about; the person that talks on the video it's my brother, Jacob. Connor, Lucas and I were the one's that recorded, edited and sent the video, to the hackers."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How do guys think Jay will react?  
> Next chapter, Jacob being Jacob.


	4. Extremes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jay has to make a important decision; Lucas exchanges information with Johan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter, srsly i spoil you guys; nah jk, just brain bunnies that hit at one am, and i must write what they tell me to.  
> Also the title is inspired by Bassjackers and KSHMR's latest id featuring the ever talented Sidnie Tipton, called Extreme.

 

Chapter 4: Extremes

 

Jayadeep felt like he was getting light headed as well as a deafening rush of blood in his ears, _**This has to be a joke**_ , he thought. At that moment Evie realized that Jayadeep looked a little pale, and between herself and Connor helped him sit down in one of the nearby chairs.

" Jay, are you okay?' Evie asked, thinking that it would have gone way better if she had asked him to sit down; well there was no going back now.

"Yeah, all things considered I'm fine; just a bit light headed" Jayadeep answered, _**God; I'm supposed to make a decision on this,** **Jesus Christ my life has just all the sudden gotten a lot more complicated, because the girl I'm was crushing on so hard, was in the middle of something that was punishable by exile or even death**_ , he thought, and the thought of her being gone and out of his life made his heart clench painfully.

"I hate to break, the moment, but the question still is Jay; would you help us?" Connor asked, earning a glare that could kill if given the chance, from Evie.

"Look, I'll give you guys an answer as soon as my brain is able to process the information" Jayadeep said as he pinched the bridge of his nose and willed his brain to work through the data.

Both Connor and Evie stayed quiet, as they allowed Jayadeep to think of his decision, Evie had hoped he would be able to help them; but now she questioned if she had made the right call.

As Jayadeep tritheto get his brain to work properly he felt like his brain had been enveloped in cotton, and the only question that swam about in the cotton was:  ** _Why?_** , because in his mind there wasn't a doubt that Evie, knew what she was getting at; when she sent the video to the hackers.

Curiosity eventually got the best of him and he just had to dig up the reason why. 

"Okay, guys I just need you to tell me; why did you do this, did you know what you were getting into?" Jayadeep asked, feeling as if that could at least give him a better understanding of how to get them out of this jam.

"It was my idea," Evie replied and then elaborated further, " I just knew that even if we sent a team of assassins to California, we didn't have a solid base there; since the two branches of the Californian Brotherhood are fighting each other for control, the hackers were our best option for reinforcements and information." 

At that statement Jayadeep found himself at a loss for words; that was in fact a insanely smart move, but he doubted that the Brotherhood would see it as such. Connor soon provided the answer to the second part of the question.

" We knew the risks, but we gambled it anyways, that's when Lucas came into place, he knows an assassin-hacker named Marcus; who gave him his current IP location, the video was supposed to be on a closed safe channel but....."

"Someone, tapped into the connection got the video, and delivered it to the brotherhood." Jayadeep said, interrupting Connor mid-sentence. Who only gave him an annoyed stare and then huffed.

"You realize what this means right?" Jayadeep asked them both, but neither Evie or Connor had caught on to it.

"Even if any other agent finds out about this, you can't exactly be blamed; since the video was supposed to be on a closed loop." Jayadeep answered his own question, as he saw glimpses of worry on both Evie's and Connor's faces.

"We still shared critical information, with an external group" Evie said, very measurably, letting each of her words sink into him.

"But it was similar to one of the Brotherhood's off charts operation." Jayadeep answered, both Evie and Connor nodded.

For that had been their intention; throughout the whole mission.

"Okay,is there probably a chance of any of you knowing a DedSec member?" Jayadeep asked, as in a very small part of his brain; he allowed himself to feel some hope over the situation.

" Well my brother is a DedSec member, so go figure" Evie said, and Jayadeep couldn't be any more grateful than he currently was.

"Where can we find him?" Connor asked as he gathered his laptop and some flash-drives that were laying around.

"Underground Fight Club, of course" Evie stated matter of factly, as looked at Jayadeep; he hadn't answered her question yet.

"Okay, then plan is to meet there, Evie do you know where it is?" Jayadeep asked and Evie just nodded.

After the three assassins had figured a plan of action and were leaving. Evie asked Jayadeep if they could talk in private.

"Yeah?" Jayadeep asked, looking at Evie's blue eyes.

" Even if we had leaked information on purpose would you still help us?" Evie asked, and just as the last word left her mouth she felt her whole body tense.

Jayadeep just smiled and he answered.

" Of course I would, you are my friend" Jayadeep answered Evie's question, since:  _ **saying of course I would, because I have feelings for you**_ ; was completely out of the question.

 Evie smiled and felt relieved over his answer, but at the same time; she felt disappointed,  _ **you're my friend**_ , he had said, and Evie sighed internally; _**Friends,**_ that's all they were.

* * *

2:30 AM, Berkeley, CA

"Why are calling me at this hour; Lucas?" Johan said sounded irritated, he had come home right after he had a heated argument with Marcus.

Since even though he was an assassin, and a hacker; that has duties to fulfill to both organizations, there just wasn't any possible way he was going to miss that many classes he needed to pass.

"Look, dude sorry for calling you, I just forget the hour differences at times." Lucas replied.

"Well why have you called me for?" Johan asked as he yawned.

"The Brotherhood in London, its running an investigation on all of it's members and; as you could have guessed I'm deep shit" Lucas answered, as he huffed.

 "Well no surprise there,"Johan answered and then added " I suppose, it has to do with the video"

"Yeah, it was just supposed to be an off chart operation, but someone tapped into my "secure" connection with Marcus, stole the video and passed to someone in the brotherhood."

"Well that it's just great, so where do we start looking for the worm" Johan asked, as he knew that this would be one of those nights; in which he wouldn't get no sleep whatsoever.

* * *

2:45 PM, Underground Fight Club, Whitechapel, London, UK

 

"Alright then Topping, if the fight it's sold for tonight; you better pull another event, I don't care from where..." Ned realized that there were three people hanging around his office's doorway, "I'll call you later", Ned ended the call and got ready to deal with them.

"What a surprise, to have you here Evie" Ned said, as he gave the other two a glare, he had no idea who were were.

"Glad to see you, Ned; also they are assassins so don't worry about them" Evie said answering Ned's unspoken question.

At that Ned, went ahead and introduced himself to the newcomers, Connor and Jayadeep did the same, and introduced themselves to the thief.

"Well now that we are all acquainted, Ned could you tell me where my brother is?" Evie asked.

" In the back area with Freddy or Lucas; I think they are playing a video game, Destiny The Rise Of Iron, I believe" Ned answered as he adjusted his glasses.

Evie thanked him and the three assassin's made their way to the back; where they were greeted by the sound of gunfire.

Evie just rolled her eyes, where she saw her brother; who was oblivious to her presence.

"Jacob!" Evie called but Jacob didn't even register, her voice; which brought her to think of the next best way to get his attention.

Walking over to the power plug and pulling out the cord.

The TV screen went black immediately and the game stopped.

"Fuck, what's your problem Evie?!" Jacob asked half screaming, and didn't even notice the two guys standing there.

"Before I decided to this I called your name, both Connor and Jay can tell you that" Evie answered matter of factly, as she rolled her eyes and wondered if bringing Connor and Jayadeep had been a mistake; when she saw Jacob's shit eating grin, _ **Yep this was a bad idea.**_

" So Connor, Greenie why are you here?" Jacob asked as he walked to the mini fridge and got himself a monster.

" I think you know the answer to that question, quite well" Jayadeep answered, as he looked extremely annoyed; God he hated the nickname the Jacob had given him.

"Oh so it's about that?, yeah no biggie." Jacob said as he downed his monster and passed a Gatorade to Lucas.

"Jacob, this is a serious situation; if anyone in the brotherhood; finds out they won't hesitate to banish or kill you." Jayadeep answered feeling completely annoyed with Jacob how could he think what he had done wasn't big.

" Aw, that's very thoughtful of you worrying about me getting killed or banished; no wonder Evie talks about you in every single chance she gets." Jacob answered with a cheeky grin.

"Listen, you..." Jayadeep was about to say something when he was interrupted by Connor placing a hand on his shoulder and giving him a glare that said _**don't give him anymore ideas.**_

Evie had been glaring Jacob throughout the exchange between him and Jayadeep; God he had mentioned _**that**_ , she had was going to murder him!

" Look Jacob, Jay is in charge of leading an investigation against you and you sister. So at least show him some respect since thanks to him none of us might end up dead." Connor said calmly.

Jacob just smirked and thought of his own clever response.

"Well I'm positive that my sister will find a way to reward, his help " Jacob answered, not even a moment passed by and Jacob felt a throwing knife pass so close to his ear that it could have drawn blood, Jacob just looked at his sister; and he realized that for earlier comments; he was dead.

"Fine, then if you don't want my help then I'm sorry, but I'm the best option you got to get out of this mess." Jayadeep answered, as he tried not to look to embarrassed by Jacob's comment. 

"Jeez, calm down you lot." Jacob  said as he raised his hands up, and walked over to his laptop, and then added " Well how do we start".

Not even a second went by after Jacob said that, and an answer was provided.

"Don't worry guys, I have someone working right now with me, over in California; with luck we should find out." Lucas said as he looked very pleased with himself.

"Well then, let's find out" Jayadeep said as he took out out of his Adidas duffel bag, and set it on the table.

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BTW ppl be aware, im the kind of writer that wouldn't give a book an ending, but would rather leave it on a cliffhanger so you buy the next sequel; but just saying don't stone me because of them. :D  
> Hope you enjoyed.!


	5. Sir Duke

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The assassins find out who tapped into the secure signal loop, and Jay has to save the Frye twins and the others from being sentenced by the brotherhood; and we get to know part of the Templar's master plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of the chapter is inspired by Firebeatz - Sir Duke, very good track; and comments and love is always appreciated.

 

Chapter 5: Sir Duke

 

5:25 PM, Underground Fight Club, Whitechapel, London, UK

The group of assassins had worked for almost 2 hours without breaks, and they were staring to feel the impacts of mental exhaustion. And through the process they had found several roadblocks, which had made the least patient of them want to rip their heads out.

But all the effort was worth it, when Johan was able to track an IP location from a computer that belong to someone registered under the name _**Sir Duke**_ ; which in all the history of badly picked names, it was the most ridiculous one.

 _ **Honestly who in the 21th century poaches a name off a song, I mean I get it's Firebeatz and all**_   _ **but, seriously,**_ Lucas thought as he rubbed his eyes, and prayed to God he wasn't going to be the one of the chosen ones to go after this guy.

" Well that is our worm" Jayadeep said, he hadn't been expecting results from this unlikely tracking method.

"Then I suppose plan is, to get this guy to tell us why he tapped into the brotherhood's business; and is making life complicated for us all" Jacob stated as downed his third monster that afternoon; as he hoped he would be allowed to go. 

"Jacob, don't get any ideas; you are not going, knowing you, you'll beat the shit out of our worm before we can get any information." Evie said, cutting Jacob out, before he could even say he was going; which 99% percent of the time led to stopping cataclysms before they even began.

Connor, Jayadeep, Lucas and even Johan couldn't help themselves but to laugh out loud, this was just golden; and the fact that Jacob was a such a loss for words made it even funnier. After the three assassin's had stopped laughing, it was time to make a plan for action.

"Okay then, I suppose we go to where this guy's house is and we get him to talk, because there are two options; either they are an assassin or a templar, otherwise there aren't any more options." Lucas suggested, and Jacob rolled his eyes, why did Lucas always forget to mention DedSec members.

" Unless they are are DedSec, as Lucas so marvelously forgot to mention." Jacob said, giving a smirk to a sour faced Lucas.

" Well, we should take a small team, three assassin's maximum, so in case of confrontation we wouldn't attract too much attention, after all this person is currently in one of the most prestigious colleges in Manchester." Evie stated, as she looked around to see if anyone offered a better plan; oblivious Jacob only rolled his eyes.

" I suppose that is, in fact the most appropriate strategy," Jayadeep commented, and before he could continue he was rudely interrupted by Jacob; who had a comment to make.

"Of course you would." Jacob said without even looking up from his computer.

For some reason, Jayadeep found himself unable to put Jacob on his place; even though Connor would have paid to see such thing.

"Awesome, who will be on the team  then?" Lucas asked, as he prayed it wouldn't be him; since he had some much overdue work, and because of such thing he was failing a class; something that if his parents found out; he would be dead meat before he could even try to explain.

"Jay, Manny and Me; after all we cant exactly afford another cataclysm can we Jacob?" Evie answered, and Jacob rolled his eyes for what it was like the sixth thousand time that evening.  

"Yeah about Manny, I'm not so sure, where he is?" Lucas confessed, since Manny might have told him where he would be in case of any emergencies; but he hadn't been paying attention.

"Just call him and tell him that he needs to meet us ASAP, in Manchester." Evie said as she gathered her things, and Jay did the same; but he had a gut feeling that whoever they were going to see; was going to be dangerous, so he reminded himself of stopping by at his house to get his Desert-Sniper pistol.

* * *

 

 

7:30 PM, Unknown Location, London, UK

" So tell me how is our little plan working, Agent" Crawford Starrick asked, as he was impatient to know how did the Brotherhood reacted to someone within their ranks, sharing information with an outside group.

"First, I'm not one of your agents, second they are making an investigation on all of it's members under 28" The unidentified shadow replied; earning a glare form Lucy Thorne, over his snarky comment.

"Now, now, don't give me a reason to kill your younger brother; before you exceed your usefulness" Starrick replied with mild disinterest, and the shadow only clenched it's fists tightly.

"Yes, sir" the shadow replied

"If that's all then, you are dismissed" Starrick said waving off the shadow; who walked away with heavy steps.

"Sir, do you really believe that making an assassin, work for us is the best idea?" Another shadow said as it materialized.

"Yes, it is Andrew; a man whose family its in danger would do anything to protect them, even sell it's own kind" Starrick responded 

Andrew nodded, wondering when he would get his chance to kill Starrick and take the Templar Order for himself.

* * *

 

 

9:30 PM, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK

" So, we are supposed to sneak into someone's dorm room, and find them, at random?" Manny asked, as he questioned the logic of this plan.

"We aren't going in there completely blind; we have the exact location." Jayadeep answered as he pulled up the coordinates in his phone, checked his hidden blade, and put some clips into his Desert-Sniper, and silently prayed; a habit of his before he undertook a mission.

" Let's just pray this goes according to plan, otherwise we are royally screwed" Evie said as she fastened her hidden blade and checked the amount of throwing knifes, smoke bombs and hallucinogen darts.

"Well let's go" Manny said as he checked his earpiece, and the two of them did the same; and where connected to the base, which was Lucas, those were a last chance saloon of getting alive out of somewhere before the police arrived.

The three assassins sneaked around the semi-empty campus, until they found the exact place; which as always had to be a top floor, and the sliding door was closed; making things all the more difficult.

"Why can't live be easier to us for once?" Manny whined, as he launched his rope up to the balcony, Jayadeep only sighed and answered.

"Manny, I need to still climb, I don't have a grapple hook; and I'm not complaining" Jayadeep said, as he started to climb up.

"Well, that's your problem amigo, who told you get injured; the week we were getting upgrades" Manny answered, as he was launched up to balcony.

"Guys, could you be quiet; we are trying to infiltrate, what we presume is enemy territory." Evie commented.

"That's Jay's fault" Manny said as he tied to lock pick the sliding door.

At that Jayadeep only raised his hands, and resumed his climbing; sometimes dealing with Manny was just too difficult.

Eventually the three assassin made it up the balcony, and Manny was able to lock pick the door, after a few tries. And they were in there now, now the real task began as to find out who was the person who lived here.

"Check everything" Jayadeep said as he himself checked a couple of things; but the something became painfully apparent; he knew who this person was, and it was going to be a huge problem if they didn't leave soon. 

"Guys we need to get out of here, right now!" Jayadeep said to his two companions, as quietly as he possibly could.

But just then they heard the cocking of a pistol behind them.

"Well, I'll be damned" Narash said, as he pointed the pistol to the back of Jayadeep's skull and eyed the other two trespassers; he could easily tell they were assassins, just like him; which meant only one thing: _**T** ** _hey_ knew.**_

"Look, Narash" Jayadeep said, as he tried to get his Desert-Sniper out of his jacket. But Narash noticed.

" I wouldn't try that if I were you, I can easily kill you from this distance, Jay" Narash answered, as he considered his options; if he kept Jay as a hostage and let the other two, he knew the Brotherhood would let him negotiate his safety; since Arbaaz cared deeply for his son, even if he didn't show it.

Neither Evie or Manny dared to move or even breathed a little too hard since the life of a teammate was on immediate danger; and any action could cause the shooter to pull the trigger, they had practiced this kind of exercise when they were younger; but it was a lot scarier when it happened in real life.

Evie took the lead and started to talk, she had to convince Narash to let go of Jayadeep; for many reasons.

"Look, Narash; we just came here to talk, the video that the Brotherhood is conducting an investigation on, was supposed to be inside a close loop; in which you or someone in this room tapped into and released the video, to the  Brotherhood.' Evie said as she tried to keep her nerves with a lid on.

Both Manny and Evie saw Narash visibly relax, and he lowered his gun; and tossed it aside.

"I'm truly sorry I didn't mean for this to go this far, Someone forced me to do it." Narash answered, as he let out a breath he knew he was holding in.

"Who made you do that?" Jayadeep asked as he turned to look at Narash.

"I can't tell you, they are always watching me" Narash answered with a pleading look in his eyes.

Jayadeep understood, they, whoever they were, had someone close to him; and he had only done that to protect that someone.

"Guys let's go, it's not safe to stay here" Jayadeep said right after Narash's declaration, his voice leaving no room for argument.

The three assassins had left the way they came came in, as quietly and quickly as possible.

When they got to the parking lot, Jayadeep noticed that there was a van he hadn't seen when they had gotten there.

And two assassins walked forward, hidden blades drawn; _**This is not good,** _ was all Jayadeep was able think before someone knocked him out.

* * *

 

6:45 AM, Unknown Location, Crawley, UK

Manny woke up with a severe headache; similar to the one's he got whenever he drank too much at raves.

As he tried to clutch his head he found out his hands were tied; which wasn't a surprise since whom had knocked them out had been assassins.

At that Manny stopped and thought, _**Oh shit. We are so screwed right fucking now,** **there was no way in hell,** **the assassins would have already figured out Jay had gone AWOL on them right?.**_

As soon as he thought that, two people entered the room, Raveen and Kai; which meant this wasn't good.

"Wake them up, Kai" Raveen said, he hated the fact that his cousin was involved in this; but rules were rules.

Soon after the three assassins were awoken, and briefed on what was about to happen; they were taken to the meeting room, where the Council awaited.

Jayadeep couldn't help himself but to keep thinking keep about worse case scenarios; since this would certainly affect Evie and the others involved; more than him.

The only people on the room, where the Council, his father Arbaaz, Leo and themselves

"Jayadeep Mir; a team of assassins found you at 10:15 PM, working yesterday; with one of our main suspects of the current investigation, what is your position on thst matter?" Altair asked.

"I was", Jayadeep answered as he was making a decision on his head.

"So now we want to know, who sent the video to the hackers?" a female member of the council asked.

Evie and Manny tensed, this wasn't good, not if they already knew who had done it.

None of them answered, the only sound in the room; their breathing.

Altair tapped his fingers against the armrests of the chair, he was growing increasedly more frustrated; since had already interrogated everyone undergoing investigation and, nobody seemed to have a clue, and he still hadn't a suspect.

Total Silence.

" A member of the Council just asked you a question, answer it?!" Arbaaz yelled at them.

"It was me" Jayadeep answered as he felt his father's ashamed look over him, and he added, "I did it because I knew, that even if an investigation was launched to find the culprits; I would be an agent and therefor exempt from an interrogation or tracking." 

At that moment Evie was about to say something, but quickly shut her mouth; after realizing what Jayadeep had just done.

Two assassins came into the room and restrained Jayadeep, taking him to a holding cell; where he would wait until the Council would decided what to with him.

 As they took him away, he was just able to feel relived; he had made the right choice and had fulfilled it; he had promised to help Evie, no matter the cost, and now he had.

After the two assassins took Jayadeep away; the Council decided they were not of any further use and dismissed them.

As soon as they were out, Evie knew she had to get Jayadeep; out of this mess, since this was her fault for letting Jacob sweetalk her into it; and for dragging Jayadeep into it as well.

* * *

 

8:30 AM, The Tower Of London, London, UK

"So how did the meeting go, Andrew?" Starrick asked as he took a sip of his tea.

"Arbaaz Mir's son; Jayadeep took the blame for the leak of information" Andrew answered, as he checked his. Beretta M9A3 for any signs of damage.

"Very well then, I suppose our plan is working better than I thought" Starrick said, as he studied the morning paper; and then added, "Now it's time for you to retrieve me that Artifact, while the assassins are still divided."

"As you wish sir, but what about the hackers; and Narash?" Andrew asked.

"The hackers can help us for the right price; and about Narash, just take him & his brother with you to California; lock them up until we have the Artifact, after that kill them both." Starrick answered as he walked over to his office's window, and smiled.

He was going to become the most powerful, Templar Grandmaster and no one would be able to stop him.

Andrew just nodded and left Starrick's office; taking over the Templar Order was going to be easier that he had initially thought.

Now all he needed to do was to kill the other higher ups, after that there was only Starrick; to care of.

 

 

 


	6. Icarus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The three young assassins must arrive in time to save Jay; but they might find the help they need from an unlikely source.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo fam!, i is back with another chapter; hope you are enjoying, also this chapter contains an slightly different of Jayadeep's banishment; since he clearly didn't get banished on this fic :D.  
> BTW Taegok's codename and the name of the chapter was inspired by R3hab's latest release Icarus.  
> Enjoy!

8:30 AM, Long Beach, CA

"I hope you are packing light, tios" Lucas said to his cousin and friends in California.

"Don't worry Luc, we packing light; after all mission is simple, save your vato, what was his name again?" Marc asked as he made sure he packed some warm coats since he knew London was infamous for it's cold weather.

"Jayadeep, but just call him Jay." Lucas said as he rubbed his eyes, he was working his brain overtime; and all the worry and pressure only made it worse.

" 'kay, at least he has a pronounceable name" Fernanda remarked, she was actually quite excited for this trip; she had always wanted to go to London.

"I trust, we'll return in time to take our mid-terms right?" Johan asked, as he made sure his computer and wireless headphones; had been fully charged, since running out of battery during an 11 hour flight ; was going to suck.

"Yes you will" Lucas answered, as he yawned.

After that the three assassins busied themselves packing and Lucas decided to sign off.

"Very well then vatos, I'll leave you to your packing also report to gate 6, a member of the English Brotherhood will wait for you there; your flight leaves in an hour" Lucas said and with that he disconnected the face time; and decided that taking a nap would be the most productive thing.

* * *

10:15 AM, Unknown Location, Crawley, UK

Jayadeep had been pacing for a while around his cell;  but had soon given up, and was currently leaning against the wall. He had made the right decision; and he felt no regret.

But just as just thought that, his dad made his way; to where his holding cell was.

Jayadeep decided that he'd be better off, If he faced his father with out most dignity.

"Jay, I know you weren't the one to send that video to the hackers" Arbaaz stated, as he looked at his right in the eyes.

Something Jayadeep had learned over the last few years, was that he was a ridiculously good liar; which would played to his advantage, in that very moment.

"I told you and the Council, that I did it; I suppose that should be enough" Jayadeep answered, as he looked as calm water in a pond.

"Jay, I'm not blind; you did that to protect someone, and the fact that you are taking the blame for their actions, It's unacceptable!" Arbaaz exclaimed, he knew his son to well, to see right through his little con.

Even though he hadn't really been an overly affective father; he truly cared for all of his children, even if he didn't show it.

"Why?, Oh never mind, I know perfectly why; because everything is duty to you, and if I'm on a mess and it affects you remotely, then of course you would try to fix it" Jayadeep answered.

He didn't care if the words hurted his father or not; because there had been a time, in which he needed him the most and the and he had turned his back on him.

"Jay, you might be an adult now; but I'm still your father" Arbaaz answered, his stern voice trying to hide the hurt his son's words had caused him.

"Well how convenient that is, so I'm only your son when you need to fix a problem that affects you; but when it is the other way around, you pretend like I'm just another person you have to deal with." Jayadeep answered, as he looked at his father defiantly

A long time ago he wouldn't have dared to confront his father; but he wasn't that afraid and innocent little boy anymore.

"Jay, I was following orders; when will you understand that?" Arbaaz said, he had always regretted treating his son like he was a traitor; for doing what was right.

"That's a fucking lie, and you know it; you could have tried to defend me like Altair and Ethan did, but instead you cowered away as you watched them point a gun at my head, you were willing to let me die." Jayadeep said, and took a deep breath; since those painful memories he had tried to hide came back; one by one.

"Did you have a fucking clue how scared I was?" Jayadeep said as he finished the question with a cold tone.

For Jayadeep that had been the day, in which his life was turned upside down; since one of the persons he loved the most, was willing to let him die.

That had been the day he realized, that he needed to distance himself from his father.

Arbaaz had always felt extremely guilty for letting his son go through that, but it had also been extremely hard to watch his son; study so hard, play football so well, and spend more time with his friends; just to distance himself from him.

"Not, everything is dharma to me son; I have regretted putting you through that every day since the day it happened, I would give anything to change that" Arbaaz said to his son.

At that Jayadeep didn't answered but he looked away; it didn't matter to him, how many times his father had said he was sorry. It wouldn't make things any easier on him.

Arbaaz left a couple of minutes after; and Evie who had been hiding throughout the whole exchange between father and son; couldn't help but to feel shocked at the revelation, that was the reason why Jayadeep had always talked about his mother and siblings but never about his father.

* * *

 

1:00 PM, Somewhere Over The Atlantic, International Waters

I had been almost five fucking hours since they had left the airport in LA, in their flight to London; and they were travelling with Taegok.

A 23 year old guy, Chinese and Filipino descent, really nice, and overly good with computers.

 _ **And the fact that he is smoking hot, doesn't hurt either does it?**_ A little voice inside Fernanda's head quipped, disturbing her inner peace.

 _ **Seriously, again;**_ she thought, to begin with he was way to old for her; and knowing her luck, he would have a girlfriend.

After all he had quite the crush on Johan, who she had been best friends with, since they were about 6 years old; and even though she had always had seen Johan as some sort of protective older brother; those feelings had slowly changed.

Now she saw him as something else, and she just hoped he would be would feel that way about her too.

Johan had grown incredibly annoyed with Lucas' inactivity; so he decided to text him, through their safe channel.

_**> :) I _is_da_boii >:) ** _

_Lucas, r u dead?_

**_No, u idiot i is still alive; just asleep._ **

**_Wat u want?_ **

_Making sure u was k_

_Btw u know were Manny be?_

**_Manny be at Crawley._ **

**_He said he needed to talk to Jay._ **

_K, text him, tell that I'll call him, when I is in London._

**_K, cya later today :-D_ **

 

After reading his primo's reply he smiled and went back to working on FL Studio; after all he still needed to release his collab with Timmy Trumpet.

* * *

 

6:30 PM, Unknown Location, Crawley, UK

 Jayadeep had been thinking about a mission that had gone wrong, about 6 years ago; which to any assassin shouldn't have been one. But he had almost shaken hands with his maker, because he had decided to stay and fight, to protect the hostages; but instead of thanks everything he got was a gun pointed as his head for "exposing the Brotherhood".

However he was pulled from his thoughts, when Evie softly called his name.

"Jay, are you awake?" Evie asked, she didn't even know what she wanted to say to him, _**because certainly saying that she was sorry  for getting him on this mess; wasn't enough.**_

"Yeah, I'm awake don't worry" Jayadeep assured, but on his head he knew he had enough to deal with and even more to be worried about.

"I came by so say that, I'm..."

"Don't say it" Jayadeep said, cutting Evie mid-sentence; he knew he had done the right thing and he would make the same choice a hundred times over, to keep her safe.

Evie didn't say anything but instead looked down, she wanted to know what had happened between, Jay and his father; but she was hesitant to ask, she didn't knew how he would react.

"I know that face" Jayadeep said, as he looked at Evie; it was the same expression she had when she was trying to decide if asking a question was the wise thing to do.

"What face, this is the only face I've got" Evie answered to his comment, a sparkle of mischief on her blue eyes; and Jayadeep was glad that, even if just for a moment Evie made him feel better about his whole situation.

"The one you always have when you're deciding if to ask a question or not" Jayadeep answered, with a grin on his face, and then he added, "I know you want to ask me something, go ahead and do it".

Evie considered if that was a good idea at the moment, and she tried to think of something to get her out of the present situation. But ultimately decided she was going to ask anyways.

"Jay?" Evie asked, testing the waters.

"Yeah" Jayadeep answered as he stretched his long limbs.

"Why don't you ever talk about your Dad?" Evie asked, as she bit her lip; this was the most delicate way to put it, since saying:  _ **oh I came to see you earlier but you and your dad were having a discussion, and I overheard it; my bad**_. Was ABSOLUTELY out of the question.

She watched as Jayadeep took a deep breath, and started to to tell her.

* * *

 

9:30 PM, Heathrow Airport, London, UK

After almost 12 hours of travelling, the young assassins arrived to London.

Johan had told Marc that he better keep an eye on Fernanda, since this wasn't a touristic visit; and they needed her in full focus.

Now the hardest part would be to find Icarus aka the guys that was suppossed to help them get Jay out of the struggle he had gotten himself into.

Which to be perfectly honest they had no idea how to find.

"Mates, welcome to London" Taegok said with a bright smile, as he waited for his bags with guys.

"Not really my place because of the cold, but it's really nice." Johan said, as he adjusted his Afrojack cap.

A small present the Dutch DJ had sent him on his birthday; even though he hadn't toured yet, he had made a name for himself since his last year of middle school in the EDM scene.

 "Don't want you fans recognizing you?" Taegok asked with a mischevious grin, he knew who Johan was.

"My fans don't even know what I look like" Johan answered, as he got his bag.

 "So I suppose you are all mysterious, like KSHMR was back in 2014?" Taegok asked, as he got Fernanda's bag for her.

"Yeah, KSHMR & Carnage are my role models; so go figure." Johan said as he yawned.

He had slept most of the time, the rest he had spend working on his collab and watching some episodes of Supernatural; that he had missed.

Marc was the last one to get his bags and after that they left, for Taegok's house in Westminster; where they would be staying.

As Taegok was driving, he asked the young assassins, about their plan.

"So guys, one question what is your plan; after today of course." Taegok asked.

"Well we are supposed to find someone under the name code Icarus, apparently, he has something that can get Jayadeep out." Marc answered, as he yawned; he wished he had at least slept some during their flight, but the he had promised Josh; he would be his teammate for an Overwatch tournament.

 "Well I happen to know the bloke quite well, so I'll take you to him, today" Taegok answered as he checked his rearview mirror; to make sure no Abstergo agents would be following them.

Fernanda and Marc just sighed, they knew this could take minutes or hours.

After a half hour ride to Taegok's house, they were now settled and ready to go meet Icarus.

"We are ready ro go, vato" Marc said, as he checked his phone.

"For what?" Taegok asked as he took off his jacket and hanged it in its hook, behind the door.

"To meet the man, Icarus" Marc said, as he opened up his instagram.

"There is no need to go anywhere, you're looking at him" Taegok answered with a cheeky smile.

The three assassins looked up with a surprised expression, and Taegok just laughed.

* * *

 

After eating dinner with Taegok and his girlfriend, who also happened to be part of the British branch of DedSec; they went with them down to his basement.

Which for Marc was the dream, it had taken him excatly 5 years to get all the consols he had now; but Taegok had models that weren't even out yet.

"Vato, how do you have all of this stuff; this consols aren't supposed to come out until next year?" Marc askes open mouthed.

"I work for Abstergo half-time, game division of course; but I have the attention of the higher ups, into Templar matters as well." Taegok said with a wink.

"So how are we going to get Jay, out of that mess." Johan asked, as he picked up an oculus rift.

"By proving the release of the video, was part of the Templar's master plan; which it is for the record" Taegok said as he walked over to where his laptop was and brought it over to where his girlfriend and guests were standing.

Without saying anything, he pressed play and the video started.

The video was shot from a bookshelf, in Starrick's office.

So how did the meeting go, Andrew?" Starrick asked as he took a sip of his tea.

"Arbaaz Mir's son; Jayadeep took the blame for the leak of information" Andrew answered, as he checked his. Beretta M9A3 for any signs of damage.

"Very well then, I suppose our plan is working better than I thought" Starrick said, as he studied the morning paper; and then added, "Now it's time for you to retrieve me that Artifact, while the assassins are still divided."

"As you wish sir, but what about the hackers; and Narash?" Andrew asked.

"The hackers can help us for the right price; and about Narash, just take him and his brother with you to California; lock them up until we have the Artifact, after that kill them both." Starrick answered as he walked over to his office's window, and smiled.

The video ended and the young assassins were left, gaping there was no way; the whole thing with the video had been a distraction.

"That's how we will prove that, Jayadeep in fact didn't release the video, but that Narash tapped into the closed signal and stole it." Taegok said matter of factly, in fact he knew Jayadeep wasn't even associated with the video, but he knew he had taken the blame for it.

And he would do the necessary to get his friend out of this.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys i tried not overdue it with the triggery shit, but come on this is AC; its normal for these ppl to deal with a lot of emotional shit.  
> Also tell me if the re write ws okay with you fam, since it was loosely based on Jayadeep's failed blooding; but it wasn't his blooding, it was just a mission in this AC, also noticed i wrote Jay as a strong fighter; which should give a better plot than him being just an infotmation broker.  
> Anyway comments, kudos, suggestion and death threats go to the same inbox.


	7. Imaginate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jay is saved from certain death, the brotherhood decides what to do

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo, ppl i is back at it again with another chapter contains: Jacob is no good at making plans, and the struggle of life are 4 real.
> 
> Song: Imaginate by KSHMR, Dzeko & Torres.

 

Chapter 7: Imaginate.

 

1:30 AM, Somewhere Over The Atlantic Ocean, International Waters

Andrew had been sent by Starrick to retrieve the Precursor Artifact; in a way his plan had worked almost perfectly, but it was his fault the fact that he was now stuck with an assassin, that would be waiting for an opportunity to end him; but luckily there was a way he could manipulate said assassin: his younger brother. Now the bigger problem was Lucy Thorne; she had offered to come on this mission, even though he knew she hadn't wanted to, Starrick had made her come with him,  ** _as a precaution_** he said, but Andrew was sure the Old Grandmaster, didn't know of his master scheme.

Anyways this way he would end her as soon as he could, and he knew that with the right kind of associates in London; he could end the others; leaving Starrick alone.

 

* * *

 

8:30 AM, Croydon, UK.

The three young assassins had woken up early, despite the fact of jet lag, they had a mission to complete; and more importantly someone's life was on the line.

They had left Westminter at 7:15 AM, and even at that time, they had found traffic; since most people who worked in London lived outside the city. At that very moment they were just chilling in a dinner in Croydon, after all leaving so early had caused to miss their breakfast.

"So guys, how do you find England so far?" Taegok asked as he took a sip of his tea, he had picked up that habit form his grandfather when he visited him in China; almost 4 years ago.

"It's okay, I guess; but the waves aren't as savage as the one's in Cali, or are they Johan?" Marc asked his friend, he had known how to surf before he could walk and that was one of his main hobbies, besides hacking and playing soccer.

Johan nodded, an Marc decided to leave his friend alone; since a lot of pressure was on his shoulders at the moment.

"Yeah, they aren't all that great here; but I know for a fact that the one's out in the coast of Wales are the ones." Taegok said, since he had a bunch of surfer friends form Wales.

"Well, if we have any free time, I would like to meet them" Marc said as he stretched, showing off proudly his LA Galaxy shirt.

 "Football fan, I see" Taegok commented, with an smile; he was a Liverpool fan, something that Jay and Manny had always made fun of, since they were Chelsea fans. But Chelsea hadn't been doing too well this year, so they had chilled out about the matter.

"Yeah, LA Galaxy and FC Barcelona, all the way!" Marc stated, and Fernanda only rolled her eyes at her brother's exclamation, he always had to bring up their rivalry; since she was a Real Madrid fan.

"Interesting, do you like any English or European football teams, besides Barcelona?" Taegok asked, he really wanted to know if this bloke was a Liverpool fan or not.

"Well, I like PSG, Manchester City, Atletico Madrid, and Chelsea" Marc answered, and Taegok choked on his tea; at the last name he'd heard, couldn't one person be a Liverpool fan for once?

"You alright, vato?" Johan asked Taegok, he knew the reason why he was gasping for air at the moment; he had noticed he was a Liverpool fan, just from his laptop's wallpaper.

After much struggle and some time, Taegok was finally able to breathe again; and Johan couldn't help but to laugh, Marc was the kind of person who could be the end of another without even knowing it.

Taegok wasted no time on explaining that he was a Liverpool fan, and went on and about how awesome Liverpool was, it wasn't until Johan half yelled at Taegok that they left the dinner and resumed  their journey.

* * *

 

2:45 AM, LA International Airport, CA

As soon as the Templar convoy touched down in California, Starrick called Lucy, in a way she had been expecting an dreading his call, she knew Starrick didn't trusted Andrew, the fact that he was so ambitious, didn't sit right with Starrick; he had given her  a mission, kill him before you get the artifact.

"Yes, Grandmaster?" Lucy answered Starrick's call, as she tried to put a plan together on her head.

"Hope you have had a pleasant travel, Lucy" Starrick said, but pleasantries weren't his point; he needed to know if Lucy had already formulated a plan to get rid of Andrew.

"I, know what you are about to ask, and no I haven't got a plan yet, but I will soon." Lucy answered Starrick's question before he could even voice it.

"Good then, tell me when you have dealt with him?" Starrick said, ending the call; he couldn't afford any mistakes at the this point in the operation, he needed it to be perfect.

Lucy only rolled her eyes, if she was going to end Andrew she would need help; and she knew exactly who could help her with such endeavor.

* * *

 

10:15 AM, Unknown Location, Crawley, UK

The group of assassin, now stood in front of the building in which the British Brotherhood, had established it's base; and to be honest it was intimidating for Johan, he was supposed to save someone's live with the evidence he found, but then again; he wasn't sure that he could do it.

"Johan?" Taegok asked, he knew Johan was terrified; at the fact that if he said something wrong that, could be the end of Jayadeep's life.

"You'll do fine, just remember to take a deep breath" Taegok stated the obvious, and he saw Johan nod, and he couldn't be anymore grateful.

Johan knew he had to do this, not only to save the live of someone he didn't even know; but to open the eyes of the English Brotherhood.

As he took a step forward all his doubts and what ifs, banished; this was his mission an he intended to complete it.

* * *

 

11:00 AM, The Meeting Room, Unknown Location, Crawley, UK

 

Johan felt like everyone on the room were lions ready to pounce on him, and tear him to pieces: for they all looked at him as such, he was starting to panic; he had never been good at talking to crowds of people or doing presentations in High school. So long story, short this was one of his greatest fears, which felt silly since he felt no fear at jumping from hundred of feet tall buildings in a leap of faith, or free running in ridiculously dangerous places.

He remembered Taegok's words:  _ **You'll do fine, just remember to take a deep breath;**_ He did just as Taegok had told him; and he felt a little better. He could do this, he needed to do this.

All the assassins gathered on the room stood up to acknowledge the Council, after the Council had take its rightful place; Jayadeep was brought in, and Johan didn't like the looks one bit, he had taken the heat; for sharing information with an outside group, and was being treated like a traitor. This was beyond bad, he needed the exposition of evidence to be flawless.

"Brother ans sisters of the Creed, were are here today to decide the punishment for one of our members; who is charged with sharing critical information,with an outside group." Altair said, as he looked over to the other members, he knew why Johan was there; and he would get is chance to talk, and he hoped the boy would be able to prove that Jayadeep was innocent, since he was one of their most dedicated and skilled assassins.

Silence, greeted the Mentor's words everyone was wary of this things, Johan's eyes roamed the audience until they landed in his brother; Manny, he wasn't with the rest of the members, instead he was standing beside who Johan assumed were Darim, Evie Jacob and Sef. They looked tense.

 _ **Great, now I have to do it perfectly otherwise I'll never see home again**_ , Johan thought, as he gulped; this was terrifying enough on its own, he didn't wanted to let anyone down, but he knew that even in the best case scenario; the Brotherhood would still look for culprits.

And so, the "Trial" started.

As the Council, mentioned the charges against him; Jayadeep knew what he had gotten himself into, he knew that the lesser punishment was to be banished, and the greater one was death; so in the scale of of things he would rather be banished than killed, for multiple reasons. But even as he was in this predicament, he didn't regret the choice he had made.

The Council and the members of the Brotherhood debated the right punishment, Jacob looked over to his sister; he had a plan but it would be extremely dangerous and almost suicidal to go thorough with.

"Evie, I think I have a plan, on how to fix this" Jacob said as he ran a hand trough his hair, he had to tell Evie, since there was a remote chance she would accept his plan; which included saving Jayadeep.

"Jacob, we arent going to do anything, Johan is here and we solely depend on him, to get Jay out of this mess." Evie answered as she tried to, catch a glimpse of Jayadeep's face.

"We can't exactly rely on a 17 year old boy, to get him out of this jam can we?" Jacob asked them, none of the answered, Manny just glared at Jacob.

"You guys made a promise, in which I would allow my brother to help him out of this; and you promised not cause any interference that might endanger my brother's safety. " Manny stated with a serious tone, and Jacob only raised his hands in defeat when Manny threw a glare at him.

"Very well then, now that we have decided on the punishment, we will give the suspect a chance to defend himself" Altair said and nodded in Johan's direction, Johan took a deep breath and started.

"Jayadeep Mir, isn't the person who made the video or distributed it to the hackers, someone else was " Johan said.

There were gasps of surprise everywhere on the room, people started to speak; and soon the whole assembly was thrown into chaos.

It took the Council a couple of minutes to calm down the crowd. 

"As I was saying, he didn't do it. In fact the video was proven to be similar to one of the Brotherhood's off the chart missions; until someone tapped into the signal and released the video." Johan continued, he felt much more confident now; as he allowed the people their discussion time, while he pulled out his laptop, and connected his computer to a projector, he selected the file with Starrick's master plan and pressed play.

All the assassins assembled watched and listened in awe as Starrick shared his plan, with one of his agents.

After the video was done, the whole assembly exploded into mayhem once again, and everyone started talking all at once and soon people were yelling over each other to be able to understand and be understood.

Manny watched his brother with pride, and as soon Johan caught sight of him, he gave his brother the thumbs up.

The Council ordered all of its members to keep silent while the verdict was delivered; Altair had been the only member of the Council to know about this, before hand since Darim had been the one to tell him that; he'd known Jayadeep would never expose the Brotherhood in such way.

"To me and everyone in the Council this proves that whoever made the video had good intentions that were turned against them when that worm tapped into the loop and released the video to everyone present here, so therefor I dictate that Jayadeep Mir is absolved of all charges against him." Altair said solemnly, as he walked over to Jayadeep and cut the bindings.

There was a group agreement as Jayadeep was allowed to go; but Altair knew this was only the calm before the storm and that the real fight would begin, when deciding the course of action they would take to resolve the Templar issue.

* * *

 6:45 PM, Chelsea, UK

Jayadeep still had a hard time believing that he had been a traitor to the Brotherhood only 24 hours ago; and now he was free to go, because of Johan; and he was extremely grateful to the boy.

So after much convincing form Darim's part he had decided that he would go out the with the gang; drinks on Darim, which he immediately regret it when Jacob asked if he was serious; and shot him a shit eating grin.

"So guys were are we going" Taegok asked over the channel, as he checked his Snapchat account.

"The Seven Bells, of course" Jacob said as he adjusted his top hat, the hat had been one of his grandfather's most valued possessions and he felt blessed to be the one entrusted to it's safe keeping.

"Well If we are going there; you aren't wearing that hat, Jacob it is not the 19th century anymore; though I'm not sure if you got the memo" Darim answered, as he looked to his rear view mirror.

Being the son of a mentor, he should know that using the earpieces for anything but missions was; strictly prohibited. But from time to time, it felt right to be nothing else but a guy hanging out with his friends; not an assassin.

Evie only rolled her eyes, of course her brother would wear that hat everywhere; and it would get get people's confused and judging stares from time to time.

Darim had gotten worried usually Jayadeep was the one that always aided him on teasing anyone; but he had been extremely quiet, so he decided to pen a secure channel between him and Jayadeep; as soon as he stopped at a red light.

"Jay, you all right, vato?" Darim asked Jayadeep as he maneuvered around.

"I'm fine, just thinking about all the damn what ifs" Jayadeep answered as he made a turn to his left.

"Then don't worry too much about them vato, you are still breathing; so that it's what counts" Darim answered, as he stopped with the out most precision at a red light.

"I guess, I can think about them later" Jayadeep answered as he waited at a red light, god he hated London's traffic.

"You know I'm always here for you, vato" Darim said, as he had beaten everyone else to the Seven Bells.

"Thanks" Jayadeep answered and turned off his earpiece, after all he still had a lot to think about; what had happened, and right now wasn't the time to do so.

He would enjoy his night out with the gang, which on it's own would be a blast.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fam,Hope you are enjoying this as much as i enjoy writting it.  
> As always comments, kudos, suggestions and death threats go to the same inbox.  
> Fun fact: Taegok, Manny, Johan, Fernanda, Marc actually based off the personalities of my best friends; Pin, Gustavo, Lorenzo and Emily; ofc they don't know im writting dis so don' tell.


	8. 150

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The brotherhood assigns the branch of the assassins in London, to get the Precursor Artifact in California; before the Templars do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to say thank you to all of you ppl, the fact this fic has reached about 127 hits, just blows mi mind, we are only in chapter 8; many more chapters to come; and many more surprises.  
> Also introducing anew OC, or what you could call a-technically-cannon-but-not-quite-canon-character-that-should-have-been-part-or-at-least-motioned-in-ACS
> 
> Song: 150 - Bassjackers

 

Chapter 8: 150

9:30 AM, Chelsea, UK

Jayadeep was woken up, by his alarm, and when he glanced at the clock and he saw it was 9:30 AM, and immediately panicked, but then realized that even though it was Monday, it was a holiday; so thank God for that. ~~~~

He decided it was better if he got up and going, after all things considered, he needed to stop by Manny's house; since Manny had learned a few tricks to deal with hangovers, since he came from a Hispanic household.

As he was getting ready, he got a text from his cousin, Raveen.

 

**_Coz_ **

_**Jay, your dad needs to talk you.** _

_Can't I'm busy._

**_On a HOLIDAY? Man, you are such a lousy liar._ **

_Yes, I'm busy; but even if  I wasn't, I just don't want to talk to him._

**_Ugh, listen Bhai, I'm a 100% sure whatever he needs to said to you is assassin related content ._ **

_Fine, but I can hold you responsible; if it turns out to be something else._

_**Yeah, yeah; fine.** _

 After reading his cousin's message, he decided that visiting Manny would have to wait: since whatever his father had to say to him was probably assassin business.

* * *

 

1:30 AM, Mojave National Reserve, CA

They had finally arrived to the Preserve, now the real mission started; Andrew knew that he needed to make Lucy's dismissal look accidental; they had left Narash and his brother in the hands of the Californian Templars; which had made sure the two brothers would have no way of escaping.

Now problem was, they didn't exactly have the location of the artifact; which was unfortunate; but he had never allowed life to craft him, he had always crafted life. And with some luck, he would be able to find the person who had the exact  location.

He needed to keep stringing Lucy along until he was able to kill her, after that he would be in need of someone that would be willing to kill the other's in London.

* * *

 

10:15 AM, Westminter, Vincent Square, London, UK

Jayadeep had a rough time getting to Vincent Square; apparently most people were going to the museums or parks since it was a holiday.

He thought that as he walked over to where his father was waiting for him, he was so engrossed on his thoughts that; he didn't even see the figure running towards him at full speed, until said figure wrapped him on a bear hug; it was his younger brother, Ranjiv.

 "Bhai!" Jayadeep said to his brother, as he returned the hug.

 "Hey Bhai, how are you?" Ranjiv said, as he let go of his brother and straightened his shirt.

"Very well, how about you I hope you aren't falling any classes?" Jayadeep said, as he threw his arm around his younger brother's shoulder.

At that remark both brothers laughed, as they kept on walking.

"Just 'cause you used to help me to do homework, doesn't means I'm not smart" Ranjiv answered, as he shot his brother an annoyed look; Jayadeep just laughed.

"So how about you, Jay? Finally got yourself a girlfriend here?" Ranjiv asked his brother; since back he knew that when his brother was in highschool all the girls wanted to date him.

"Nay, but there is a girl who I like, and by that I mean a lot" Jayadeep answered as he thought about Evie, which seemed to be what _**his brain was doing a lot of, lately.**_

"Well, I'll be here for a couple of weeks; so I would love to meet her" Ranjiv said, as he took his phone out of his pocket and checked his Instagram.

"Know what? Maybe you'll be able to meet her today" Jayadeep said as he walked with his brother.

"She's a friend of yours, isn't she?" Ranjiv asked his brother, pausing to look up from his phone.

"Yeah, she is" Jayadeep said, as he stopped walking to look at his brother.

 Ranjiv just sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Bhai, the last girl who had a crush on you; was one of your friends, and you friend zoned her so quickly she didn't even had time to process what had just happened" Ranjiv answered, he had been there after all; he had seen what happened.

"Bhai it's not like that, I swear; this is different" Jayadeep said to his brother, who looked incredulous beyond measure.

"Alright, I believe you Bhai" Ranjiv answered, he did believe his brother; it was just that he had seen to many girls be heartbroken.

The two brothers kept on  walking; and Ranjiv couldn't help but to feel anxious, the relationship between his father and brother hadn't always been the best, and it had only gotten worse after his brother had almost been executed; six years ago.

Which had almost ended their parents marriage, so as soon as Jay had been old enough to leave for college; he had done so, for him and their mother.

The two brothers kept on walking silently now, Ranjiv knew that his brother was steeling himself; to meet their dad.

 

* * *

 

10:15 AM, Chelsea, UK

Manny had been awake almost for three hours now, and he currently was playing FIFA; he didn't have much to do, he had finished his Graphics Project three days ago, and had gotten done all his studying, when he got a text from Jacob.

**_Rook (DedSec)_ **

**_Manny you up for some fun?_ **

_What kind of fun?, Because last time I checked fun to u was something, that involved me getting in trouble with your sister._

_Which I have half a brain for not doing so._

**_Manny u wound me, y u have so little faith on me?_ **

_Because if I did I would be dead._

_And no Jacob, I don't mean to hurt your feelings, I'm  just stating the obvious._

**_Look, give I a chance to explain, plz?_ **

_K, fine I is listening._

**_K, so I got a text from a DedSec member asking for our help._ **

_To do what exactly?_

**_They need just a couple of names marked off the book of life._ **

_Jacob!!!!!!_

_We aren't mercenaries or hitmen, we are assassins not killers; we don't do this!!!!!!!!_

**_Jeez, man let me explain._ **

**_They r Templars, so it is a win-win scenario._ **

_Jacob, the brotherhood would banish or kill us both for insurgence, this aren't the Council's orders_

_**Yet, they let Jay go.** _

_That is a completely different scenario, he protected you, your sister, Lucas and Connor, by taking the blame._

_AND, He wasn't even involved to begin with._

**_Okay yeah, i know anyways all i is saying, this could help the brotherhood._ **

**_We'd be helping out a DedSec fellow,_ **

**_And if we was found, we could say it was an off the chart type mission._ **

_Jacob, pledging that wouldn't help for shit._

_But okay , maybe you are right._

_I'll help you._

**_Thx, u the real MVP Manny._ **

_Don't even mention it._

 

After reading Jacob's reply and what he had just agreed to, Manny sighed and resumed playing FIFA; and decided he could deal with Jacob later.

* * *

 

10:30 AM, Westminter, Vincent Square, London, UK

"You are late, Jay" Arbaaz said to his son, without even glancing.

"I wouldn't be late if you had called me, instead of having Raveen text me; he has a life you know" Jayadeep answered, as he shrugged; reason why he had always hated talking to his dad.

"I do know, but otherwise you wouldn't have come; since apparently you are busy on a holiday" Arbaaz said to his Jayadeep, finally turning to see his sons.

 Ranjiv, tried his best to hold back his laughter since he had been there when his brother had replied that he was busy, but accepted to meet their father when Raveen ad said it was purely assassin business.

"Well yeah, I'm busy trying not to die by numerous factors," Jayadeep answered, if his father was going to keep talking about this issue, he was going to leave as soon; as he got the chance.

But soon his father got down to business.

"Ranjiv, could you please let me and your brother speak, privately?" Arbaaz asked his younger son, Ranjiv shot Jayadeep a questioning look, and Jayadeep nodded back.

"Sure Dad, I'll be around catching Pokemon" Ranjiv answered, as he took his leave; an argument between his dad and brother was never the best place to find oneself at.

Right after his younger son, was far enough from hearing range; he addressed his eldest son.

"It was extremely careless of you to take the blame for something that you didn't do" Arbaaz said, after all he had to lie to his wife, Pyaras and his younger son; about Jayadeep being fine.

"Well I had a good reason to do it for" Jayadeep answered with a shrug, what how his father possibly know; he hadn't ever taken an interest on him.

"Your so called good reason was, a girl you have a crush on" Arbaaz said, he had known the reason; and he would have been willing to help him, if his son had just been able to see past what had happened 6 years ago.

"Questions the man, who was willing to turn over a Precursor Artifact to save my mother's life." Jayadeep answered, that was new; usually he never told his father anything, they barely talked, which took Jayadeep to scramble his brain for possible telltales.

"Yes, I admit that what I did was reckless; but my point isn't that, I asked you to tell me who it was, I'm was trying to help you" Arbaaz answered, with the out most honesty.

"Trying to make up for what happened on the past isn't going to make it any better" Jayadeep replied coolly, when would his father understand the fact he didn't wanted to be near him.

Arbaaz was at a loss for words at that particular reply, after all _**wasn't that what he was trying to do?**_

Jayadeep ran a hand trough his hair and sighed, if his father was going to give him a sermon about this he might as well just leave.

"Dad, if you are just going to sermon me about my so called recklessness then, I'll be going." Jayadeep said, as he looked at his father.

"Jay, I think you are old enough to take responsibility for your actions, but I just wanted to tell you that even though; you might believe I'm the worst father in this world and the next, I'll be there for you." Arbaaz answered, looking at his son, Jayadeep didn't reply, and Arbaaz knew why; they were just as equally stubborn.

 "Well, then what is the assassin business you wanted to tell me about." Jayadeep asked, as he tried not to think of a particular worse case scenario.

* * *

 

2:30 PM, Westminter, London, UK

It had been almost 4 hours since his father had told him that he was supposed to go to California and beat the Templars to the location of a Precursor Artifact.

Which on itself was sitting right beside impossible; since he was sure that if the Templar had half a brain they would have already sent at least one of their elite teams, to deal with the situation. Which on the big scale of things, meant they had at least a day's or two head start.

And if the had the right Intel, they would be able to find it in less than 24 hours, which they had no way of beating, right now the best solution he could come up with off the top of his head was to stop the Templar team, before they delivered the Artifact to the Grandmaster.

However he was pulled from his thoughts when his brother called his name, which surprised Jay; since he was sure his brother had no idea what was where in London.

"Jay?" Ranjiv asked his brother who seemed cal on the outside, but his brother knew better since thoughts were flying everywhere inside his head.

"Yeah" Jayadeep answered absentmindedly, he really wasn't in the mood for one of his brother's stunts at the time.

Ranjiv only sat beside his brother.

"Bhai, tell me what's going on" the younger brother asked his sibling.

"How I'm supposed to assemble a team of assassins under 24 hours, beat Templars to the location of a Precursor Artifact, when they have a 48 hour head start and possibly the right Intel?" Jayadeep responded on the form of a question, and his brother just looked at him, with a puzzled expression. 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i is back at it again with daily chapters, because im a hopeless liar; and instead of working on my FL Studio project im writting this, anyways hope you ppl are enjoying this; because i certainly is; Also it is cannon that Jayadeep's relationship with his father deteriorated after he was banished, so hence all the snarky comments; but i suppose they were able to work trough it when after his banishment as lifted.  
> But i promise ill fix that before the end  
> As always; kudos,comments, suggestions and death threats go to the same inbox.


	9. Run Wild

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darim and Jayadeep find the team they need, but Jacob isn't included and leaves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fam! I is back and i have brought with me cookies and another chapter; Freddy is going ready to soon.  
> Thank you so much for ur unconditional support.  
> Song: Run Wild - Hardwell ft. Jake Reese

 

Chapter 9: Run Wild

4:40 PM, Southwark, London, UK

Manny walked on the almost deserted street, even though it was quite early; few people were out because it was a holiday as well as the cold, something Manny wasn't fond of, After all he had lived part of his life in Arizona, and then some of his teenage years in California; so he was used to warm weather all year round.

He was beginning to regret that he had agreed to help Jacob, since last time he had decided to do so; Evie had roasted him to a crisp, a memory he currently didn't wanted to revisit. He currently was in the address Jacob had given him, and well; not one soul was there, when his phone buzzed in his jacket.

 

_**Rook (DedSec)** _

_**Manny r u coming or not?** _

_Jacob, I'M AT THE PLACE WHERE WE ARE SUPPOSED TO MEET! WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU!_

_**Oh srry m8, gave you the wrong address; my bad :D** _

**_:V_ **

**_Actual address: Street in front, of the Ministry of Sound nightclub._ **

**_First that's not an address, second we is supposed to go after Templars; not to a nightclub._ **

**_Don't worry  m8, its all part of my master plan._ **

_Jacob, no offese but ur isnt the best planner._

**_U need 2 have more faith in I._ **

After he read Jacob's reply; he went back to where his car was and deiced he would take his time getting there.

* * *

5:10 PM, Chelsea, UK

The Mir brothers had spent most of their afternoon figuring out who would make the best team of assassins; and at this point in the afternoon they had sketched a pretty descent plan, and a somewhat effective team; but there were still too many what ifs unresolved; something they would have to wing it from that point.

"Okay, so we have at least a decent team right now, now do you think they'll say yes?" Ranjiv asked his brother, he really hoped they would accept; otherwise they would spend a bunch more hours figuring out another group of candidates, rather than doing most important things; namely playing FIFA or skateboarding.

"Darim, Manny, and Evie, will say yes; after they learn that the Brotherhood assigned us this mission, now Lucas and Connor I don't know; and Jacob I rather not ask." Jayadeep responded as he chewed on the end of his pen.

"It wouldn't hurt to try, right?" Ranjiv  asked his brother, Jayadeep only nodded.

Jayadeep decided to leave all a message to all of the possible candidates; he really needed to get this moving, otherwise it would be on him; if the Brotherhood lost another Artifact.

* * *

 

7:25 PM, Ministry of Sound, Southwark, London, UK

 

 _ **Manny is really taking his sweet time, isn't he,**_ Jacob thought as he waited for Manny; of course he knew Manny had no real reason to help him, after the incident that had happened last year, which hadn't been pretty for either of them; but that had lead to meeting Freddy, which Jacob thought as one of the top things that had ever happened to him, ever.

Freddy was his boyfriend, and also an extremely valuable ally, to the Brotherhood and DedSec; since pretty much anything other that wasn't a major crime, could be swiped under the carpet. Something the Brotherhood was always very careful about.

 Jacob downed his second beer, when his phone buzzed, a message from Jayadeep;  sent about 2 hours ago, but he hadn't gotten since he was in Airplane mode.

_**Greenie** _

_**Meeting at the Seven Bells.** _

 

After reading Jayadeep's message, Jacob smiled; he knew Jayadeep hated the nickname he'd given him.

But honestly; who was a Green Bay fan, nowadays; Jacob actually watched American football, so he knew his facts. 

Jacob didn't even bothered to type out a reply; he was preoccupied with a more urgent issue at hand; namely waiting for Manny Gutierrez, who was late as fuck at the moment.

* * *

 

7:25 PM, Westminster, London, UK.

 

Evie had just come home from working at the library, when she read Jayadeep's message to her.

_**Jay** _

_**Um hey, we need to meet as soon as possible at the Seven Bells.** _

_Okay, no problem._

After Evie sent her reply, she tried her best at not thinking of that as, Jayadeep asking her out on a date; which became a near impossible task, when that fluttery feeling she had, when she was near him; made itself present.

Trying to ignore that feeling, Evie decided to text Lucas, since he probably knew where her brother was.

* * *

 

8:15 PM, Ministry of Sound, Southwark, London, UK

 

Manny finally decided to enter the nightclub, after almost half an hour of deciding; since Jacob had said the street in front.

But as soon as he entered, he saw Jacob who looked like he was having the time of his life; in a jump style battle against another guy.

Manny only rolled his eyes, and decided that it would go much more smoother; if he waited for it to finish.

After they finished and Jacob had won, he made his way to the table where Manny was sitting.

"Hey" Jacob said, as he sat down and took a gulp of his beer.

"Get to the point vato, why I'm here instead of spending time with my lil' bro." Manny asked Jacob, in a way he didn't wanted to be roasted to a crisp again; but for the most part he wanted to spend some time with his sibling.

"The point is the owner of this club, is a Templar; a big fish to be accurate" Jacob said, as he took a sip of his beer and raised a brow at Manny's expression.

"One fish, I thought you said we should get rid of all the fish" Manny said, now this was fucking amazing; if they weren't all at one place they had more chances of being tagged by the Templars and caught.

"Jeez man, I've not gotten to explain the whole thing" Jacob responded, raising his hands in mock surrender.

"Explain then" Manny said, as he tried to resist the urge to roll his eyes at him.

"This club is also used for meetings the 24th of each month; that would be the only time the big fish come here" Jacob explained, as he threw an offensive glare to his bottle for being empty.

"Well, now I'm surprised; Jacob Frye you are now taking your sister's mantle" Manny commented, with the sole purpose of riling Jacob up.

"I'll never do such thing, for as my grandma used to say; Boys will be boys and Jacob will be Jacob" Jacob answered, Manny laughed and Jacob frowned, at such disrespect to his grandmother's words.

Jacob was about to order another beer so before he could even call the waitress over, Manny rolled his eyes and dragged Jacob out of the club.

* * *

 

9:45 PM, Seven Bells, London, UK

 

Jayadeep and his brother had been arrived at the Seven Bells, at about 7:15; and they had been waiting for almost 3 hours, and not only soul had showed up, in that span of time; the only people in the pub were, The Rooks and Clara. Which didn't leave many people for striking up a conversation. Which was fine with Jayadeep, but not so much with his younger brother being the talkative person he was; who was currently dying slowly, of boredom.

"Bhai, can I ask you a question?" Ranjiv asked his brother, who was currently buying tickets for Tomorrowland 2017, in Belgium.

"Yeah, ask away" Jayadeep answered, momentarily looking up form his phone.

"The girl you like, is she an assassin?"Ranjiv asked his brother, as he stretched and threw a glare to one of the Rooks.

"Yeah, and second if I were you, I wouldn't glare at Ashton; unless you want a bar fight" Jayadeep said, as he shot an apologetic look at Ashton, who nodded back.

"Come on, bhai; we could beat them, you know?" Ranjiv said as he leaned against his chair.

"Yeah, I don't doubt you can fight someone your size, but I don't think you can handle someone who is three times your size" Jayadeep commented, as he looked at the door; the thing was when it came to leaving a message for Evie, he tried not to overdue it. But knowing his own character he knew he had just made life difficult for himself.

Sighing he turned his attention to his phone, and tried not to think about it too much; anyways he was glad they were friends and that should be enough for him.

Eventually the the first two assassins that came, were Lucas and Connor; Lucas looked like he didn't wanted to be there; and Connor,well, Connor looked like he always did.

"Hey guys" Lucas said to them and apathy could be clearly heard on his voice.

"Oh hey Lucas, Connor" Jayadeep answered as he looked up from his phone.

"Um, guys this is my younger brother Ranjiv" Jayadeep introduced his brother to the two other assassins.

Lucas and Connor introduced themselves to Ranjiv; soon Lucas and Ranjiv struck up a conversation, about Rainbow Six Siege and their stats, on the game.

"Does Marcus knows where the Artifact is?" Jayadeep asked Connor, he only nodded; and gave Jayadeep a piece of paper, with someone's name written on it.

"Tiger, it's the contact you have to find in California; as you know Darim knows Tiger personally." Connor said, as he looked to the door, since Darim had a bad habit of dropping into everyone's conversations.

"Of course he does, if you know what I mean" Jayadeep said as he folded the piece of paper and put it in one of his pockets.

"Also Marcus will help you get to the Mojave Reserve, and give you reinforcements" Connor said, as he smirked a little; since he never really smiled.

"So does Marcus know how many Templars are there?" Jayadeep asked him as he eyed his brother, just to make sure the kid didn't start a bar fight.

"Yeah, two person team, namely Lucy Thorne and Andrew Kozlov at the Reserve; but it's to be suspected that they have a bigger convoy, just siting around in LA or Berkeley" Connor stated matter of factly.

Just as the two were talking; Darim, Evie, Manny and Jacob entered the pub, and all the Rooks made a show of standing up for their leader. 

Evie and Manny just rolled their eyes, and went to where the other assassins were gathered; but Jacob went to greet his gang members and to buy himself another drink. After the newly arrived assassins were introduced to Jayadeep's younger brother, Jacob included; Jayadeep decided that it would be best if Darim knew of the Intel first, being the son of a mentor and all he was the one with the right skills.

As soon as Darim and Jayadeep left to get something to drink as well, and as soon as they were far enough form hearing range, Jayadeep told Darim of their assigned mission; something that Darim admitted knowing. Then the two made their way back.

"So Greenie tell us why are we here; or is this supposed to be a date, with my sister?" Jacob asked, as he threw a mischievous look at Jayadeep, and up until that moment Darim had never seen anyone get so embarrassed that fast. 

As the rest of the assassins laughed, Evie shot her twin a glare that could kill if, given the chance; for his comment.

Jayadeep cleared his throat and tried to recover his composure, and looked at Darim who was clutching his ribs; from laughing so hard. At that Darim stopped and commanded the rest of them to be silent.

"No, it's is not Jacob.."

"But you know you would want it to be" Jacob said, as he took a sip of his beer; interrupting Jayadeep in the middle of his statement.

"Okay, Jacob you've had your fun, now let Jay speak" Darim told Jacob, in a way his tone left no room for argument.

Jacob just shut up, but muttered under is breath something about Darim being a jackass; which Darim purposefully ignored;just for the sake of the meeting. 

"We have an assigned mission by the brotherhood, long short we are supposed to beat the Templars to the location of an artifact in the Mojave desert and bring it here" Jayadeep said, as took in account the surprised expression of most of the members gathered there.

Nobody said anything and the only sounds in the pub were those of a bunch of Rooks singing and playing billiard. Until Manny spoke, catching onto what they were here for. 

"You don't have a team yet, and you made us come here so we decided to join or not" Manny said and both Darim and Jayadeep nodded in approval.

"Yeah that's is pretty much it" Jayadeep responded, as he mentally steeled himself for their answers.

"Do you guys have a solid plan?" Evie asked, she wasn't the kind of person who would throw herself into any situation without a plan.

Jayadeep looked at Darim, so he wouldn't have to explain this; and Darim just sighed and explained it for his friend.

 "Well, we have a somewhat solid plan, but there are some small what ifs we'll just have to wing" Darim said as he looked at them, Jacob was smiling like an idiot, Manny just shrugged, Lucas sighed, Connor did nothing, and Evie frowned.

This didn't look too hot at the moment, and Darim was trying his best not to facepalm at the current situation. The small group of assassins talked and discussed among each other, and Darim was trying his best not to make a decision of who went went and who stayed; by himself.

After a while the group was ready to voice their opinions.

"Well; Evie, Connor, and Myself are in" Manny said as he tried, not to be too excited about going back to Cali.

At that both, Darim and Jayadeep visibly relaxed; this was all the perfect team actually. But Jacob had to disagree.

"Hey  you guys didn't even ask for my opinion, that is not fair" Jacob whined, he really wanted to go; after all he had promised to help Marcus.

"You would have decline the offer anyways" Evie shot back at her twin, and the rest of the group was quiet because they knew and; nobody wanted to get involved in this. 

"Yeah and you're not the person who goes into any situation without a plan, unless Greenie is going" Jacob said, as he pointed at Jayadeep's direction, and Darim knew Jayadeep was reaching the limit of his patience.

"Know, what I'll get out of here, so; when you have worked out this between you two just call me" Jayadeep said, as he took his jacket and practically dragged his brother out of the pub.

"Now are you happy Jacob?" Evie asked and Jacob just shrugged, it wasn't his problem that he stated the obvious.

"Guys let's not turn this into a fight; we can only take a 5 persons team and both, Jay and I are going so only 3 more people can go, so I sincerely apologize if I didn't mention that before you guys decided" Darim said as he tried to be the voice of reason, which was something he was quite used to doing, since his younger siblings acted the same way; and it was always up to him to break the fights.

"Fine, its fine really I'm always the one getting kicked out of anything, either by my own family" Jacob said as he threw a glare in Evie's direction,"Or my friends, so I don't know why do I still care"

 

"Jacob, it is not like that..."

"Don't even try to fix this, Darim and you made it perfectly clear that you don't want me on this mission, so I won't go" Jacob said, cutting Evie mid sentence, and storming out of the pub.

Darim called after Jacob, but to no avail, and Evie told him just to let him cool off.

* * *

 

 

11:00 Chelsea, UK

 

Jayadeep had gotten home a while ago, and he didn't even wanted to think about anything at the time, he just wanted to fall asleep and forget how complicated his life was all the damn time.  

But such thing was far from his reach since he was still, mad at Jacob for no apparent reason he could recall; but honestly what was Jacob's problem he had never even spared a glance, let alone talked to the guy for more than 5 minutes; yet he was an jackass to him all the time.

And even if he had a crush on his sister that wouldn't have to be any of his business right? 

Sighing he got up to gt his phone, he had heard the notification sound and he hoped it would be one of his cousins or someone he could talk to. But destiny would have it otherwise; it was Darim.

 _ **Darim (Eagle)**_  

_**Jay, I'm sorry if I woke u up, but we have the team now, we're leaving London tmrw at 6:30** _

_**Gate 8, Heathrow Airport** _

_**Also Evie said she apologizes for her brother's behavior.** _

_Okay, then see you tmrw, and tell Evie it's fine._

__


	10. Tiger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The assassins land in California, and something unexpected happens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo my ppl, i is back; and tgis chapter is focused in how Freddy helps Jacob deal with being left behind :(  
> I felt bad as i wrote that. ;(  
> And we get to meet another OC, now that's all fam no more spoilers. :)  
> Song: Tiger - R3hab vs Skyetch & Fafaq

 

Chapter 10: Tiger

 

6:15 AM, Heathrow International Airport, London, UK

 

Manny was falling asleep while standing; such thing was happening because he wasn't used waking up as early as4 AM; which only meant one thing: his whole sleep cycle was fucked.

But noticing his surroundings, he saw that Darim, Ranjiv, and Connor were in the same predicament.

Evie and Jayadeep were the only ones fully awake.

After what had happened last night, Manny had felt really bad for Jacob; and had tried to reach him through their DedSec channel.

But Jacob had replied, so Manny had decided to take another approach and had told Freddy what had taken place; and he really hoped Freddy would help Jacob to see why he couldn't have gone.

Despite his sleepy state, Manny tried to get into contact with Jacob; when he realized he had a message from Marcus.

 

_**Marcus (DedSec)** _

 

_**Yo! Manny got news 4 u** _

_Wat news, vato?_

**_The templar convoy is in LA_ **

**_They have 2 hostages: Narash and Niles Dhar_ **

_No fucking wayh_

_R u serious?_

**_Yeah, I is_ **

**_Better tell you team leader or someone_ **

_Thx, vato I owe u big time_

_Drinks on me, 4 all in Long Beach_

**_K, man cya in a bit._ **

_Cya._

After Manny read the intel Marcus had just given him, he smiled; and went to buy himself a coffee, he could tell Jay when they got to Cali.

* * *

 

 

7:53 AM, London, UK

 

Jacob had woken up about half an hour ago, and as soon as he had unlocked his phone; he had seen Manny's and his sister's messages.

He hadn't bothered to type a rely to either, not because he was proud; he didn't do it, because he's still hurt. 

To be honest he knew he wasn't the best brother or son; but he was trying his best to be better each day, but to his father being better wasn't enough; he had to be prefect.

Sighing he decided text Johan they had been Overwatch rivals across the Atlantic before they became friends; and Jacob, he felt the kid understood how he felt right now, for always being compared to his older brother's.

_**Tauro (DedSec)** _

 

_Hey Johan_

**_Hey man wzzup_ **

_Not mux, just feeling sad :(_

**_Y? Tho_ **

**_Y u sad?_ **

_Cuz i didn't get chosen 4 mission_

_;(_

**_Rook, don't wrry thell need u sooner or later_ **

_Idts, Darim made it pretty clear that they don't need or want me near them._

**_:(_ **

**_Did any thing else happen?_ **

_Yeah, Greenie is mad at me :)_

 

**_Y? Did u teased him about liking ur sister._ **

_Yeah :)_

**_bruh, then u ask y shit happens 2 u_ **

_I means even if i isnt teasing, he still mean to i_

**_hey rook, trust me, he doesn't wants ro be mean_ **

**_He jjst has a lot of things to deal with on his life all time 24/7_ **

**_And he just cant stand u sometimes_ **

_Wat things?_

**_Cant say, aint mi tale to tell_ **

**_But u should ask him_ **

**_Or Evie, I bet she knows ;D_ **

 

Know wat, maybe i will

Obvious mux 

_Thx 4 talking to me Jo_

**_np rook, that wat friends r 4_ **

_Btw were u at???_

**_Flying back home to Cali_ **

**_Same plane as mi brother._ **

_Noice, tell him i ok_

**_k, cya rook_ **

_Ttyl Jo._

After Jacob sent his reply to Johan; he picked up his book bag and slung it over his shoulder and left home, after all he still had classes to attend.

* * *

 

9:30 AM, International Waters

 

They had been flying for almost 2 hours now; and both Johan and Ranjiv had gotten along so quickly, Jayadeep couldn't helped to be impressed.

Since his brother was an very shy person; but not that he was complaining, it was good seen his brother breaking of his shell.

 At the moment however he was more preoccupied with the what ifs the mission had; it was bad enough that they would have to wing it.

But at the same time he was glad to go back to Cali after 6 long years, see his friends and his family.

Without meaning to, his eyes suddenly landed on Evie; who was awake and currently drawing something in her Ipod, and he couldn't help but to notice; the way she tucked her hair behind her ear, and....

 _ **Stop!!!!!!**_ A little voice in his head practically yelled at him, and he shook his head; honestly he needed to focus.

But he couldn't, and he was really trying to; anyways he knew that something between them had no chance of ever happening whatsoever, and that if it happened, for starters; he was older than her, and he knew that things like this one usually didn't  workout,and since  he had learned that they both were assassins, there was a even smaller chance of that happening.

He sighed and closed his eyes, he needed to get some sleep; since whenever his brain was fried he couldn't think straight.

 _ **Yeah that is probably it,**_ Jay thought as he closed his laptop and leaned back in his seat, closing his eyes.

But deep inside him, he knew that wasn't something, he could just ignore and hope to forget.

* * *

 

2:45 PM, Chelsea, UK

 

Jacob sighed, part of him wanted to talk to his sister; but another portion of him was telling him, that if she wanted to know how he was she should text him.

Luckily, his lunch break had just started so he had about an hour and a half to decide; so instead he opened his computer and watched one of his friends do a livestream in Destiny: The Rise Of Iron.

Just as he was taking a bite out of sandwich; someone covered his eyes, and Jacob was close to cursing out loud, when he realized who had done so; it was his boyfriend, Freddy.

"Hey Fredbear" Jacob said, as he tried an smile.

"Hey Jake, how are you?" Freddy asked Jacob as he sat beside him; and smiled.

"I'm fine, Fred" Jacob answered, and then took a sip of his drink.

"Look Jake, I know what happened yesterday." Freddy said, as he eyed Jacob; since he had a bad habit of hiding things from the people that could help him.

"Wait, what how you know?" Jacob asked, as he coughed; since the drink had gone down the wrong pipe, as soon as Freddy said that.

 "Because Manny texted me, and your sister called me" Freddy said to him.

"Oh really, I would have thought  she'd be too busy with Greenie" Jacob commented, as he turned off his laptop; Freddy laughed at Jacob's comment.

"Maybe, but who knows, but you know neither of them would ever admit to anything" Freddy said, and the both of them bursted out laughing.

After they had calmed down, Freddy decided it was a good time to tell Jacob about the West Ham game.

"Oh Jake, can you come with me to the West Ham today?" Freddy asked Jacob

"Are you asking me on a date, Freddy Abberline?" Jacob asked Freddy as he smirked playfully.

Freddy blushed thought over his own answer.

"Yeah, pretty much" Freddy said grinning like an idiot.

The both of them talked for a while, until Jacob's lunch break was up; and he had to go to his next class, and in they way to Computer Engineering, he decided he would talk to his sister later, after going to the game with Freddy.

* * *

 

 

5:45 PM, Somewhere over Nevada, US

 

Johan woke up for what it felt like the 12th or 13th time, during the flight.

He would have to get used to it, if he planned on touring as a DJ,  when he got older; now he knew why Afrojack and Hardwell complained about the extremely long flights.

As he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, he decided to check how his collab with Timmy Trumpet was doing, in Beatport, and it surprised him it had reached number 1 in the PSY-Trance charts just above the collab Timmy had released with Carnage; earlier that year.

So decided he thank his fans for the amazing support, as soon as they landed in Cali.

* * *

 

5:45 PM, Los Angeles, CA, US

 

Marcus was driving his recently "burrowed" vehicle when he got a call from Wrench.

"Hey man, how the burrowing coming along?" Wrench asked.

"Going well, tell me would you be able to know how to hack a HAUM, soon?" Marcus answered, while asking his own question.

"Yeah, it all depends on how intact the chips are" Wrench answered.

"Shit!" Marcus cursed, as a police barricade blocked his way, and a patrol was hot on his tail.

"What's going Marcus?, cause that didn't sound too good" Wrench asked as he replaced a chip in his computer.

"LAPD, they are closing on me; gotta do a fast and furious stunt" Marcus said.

He went full speed towards the barricade and drifted in the last moment, before taking off in the direction the lone patrol was coming; and left them eating his dust.

"Marcus we clear?" Wrench asked, as he prayed he was, mostly because of the chips.

"Yup, all clear; also send me a video of the stunt I just did, I'm gonna post it in the DedSec social app" Marcus said as he put his music full volume on his phone and drove back to the Hacker's hideout.

"'kay man you go it." Wrench answered, as he walked over to his second work station to get the footage.

Upon arriving, Wrench and Sitara waited for him, to help him unload the robots he had just stolen from the factory.

"Good day, I take it" Sitara said after they unloaded the first robot and they opened the lid of the box.

"Yep, no apparent damage; so I congratulate you Marcus Holloway, for doing a safe and successful stunt." Wrench said to Marcus, as he took as bow in Marcus direction; Sitara clapped.

"You are far too kind, dear audience" Marcus joked, and the three laughed out loud.

"Well let's get some unloading done" Wrench said as he climbed on the truck and started moving the second robot.

As they were unloading the robot, Wrench's phone buzzed on the table nearby; and he dashed to get it.

He had a text from Tauro.

_**Tauro (Johan)** _

_**We is almost home mis amigos** _

_K, cya in a bit homie_

 

Wrench typed out a short reply and sent it, then he turned towards where Marcus and Sitara were eyeing him in full on annoyance.

"Well, what is so important; you are leaving us to unload the truck by ourselves" Marcus asked, and Wrench only showed him his phone; Marcus nodded, then called Sitara over, she read the message as well, and then took off.

* * *

 

6:00 PM, Los Angeles, CA, US

Sitara had left they hideout about 15 minutes ago and gone to Tiger's home, Sitara just hoped she wasn't out of LA. Because they needed her right now.

But before she could knock the door, Tiger's Siberian husky ran out the door, knocking Sitara down; and licking her face.

Tiger just laughed and helped he friend up, and invited her in.

"So, tell me how are you guys?" Tiger asked, as she gave Sitara a towel, and then walked over to where her dog was standing; and gave him a croquet.

"Uh, oh they are fine" Sitara said, as he cleaned her face with the towel Tiger had given her.

"If you guys need help, just let me know." Tiger asked, as she scratched a spot behind her dog's ears.

"Well yeah actually we do, the team is landing in a about an hour or so" Sitara said, with a cheeky grin; she knew that Tiger would want to be there because of one particular reason: _**Darim.**_

At that Tiger, just turned to Sitara and smiled; she hadn't seen Darim in like 3 years or so, well they talked through Skype, almost everyday; but she still missed him anyways.

"Well then tell me when are they land, and I'll be the first one to go see them" Tiger said as she stood up.

"Thank you so much, I knew we wouldn't have been able to go see them, because Marcus and Wrench are just too absorbed trying to hack into a HAUM" Sitara said as she pulled out her phone to reply Marcus' text.

"Nice, if you don't mind me coming along, I bet I could be able to help you guys." Tiger said, as she picked up her house keys, and laptop.

"Nope, none at all; I bet those two idiots could use some help about now." Sitara said as both of them left the house.

* * *

 

6:45 PM, LA International Airport, CA, US

 

They had arrived over 30 minutes ago, and they were still a waiting for their bags; Darim, Connor and Johan were playing around, as usual. Manny was making sure his brother didn't break anything, Jayadeep was trying to keep his brother from causing mayhem, and Evie was trying her best not to snap at them.

But all too soon all fooling around stopped when two airport security agents came to see them.

"Jayadeep Mir, and Darim Ibn-La'Ahad?"One of the agents said, as he eyed the group for potential threats, they had a simple mission, kill the Ibn-La'Ahad boy and take prisoner Arbaaz's Mir son. The only couldn't help but to take a fearful gulp, even this small team; would be able to take down an entire convoy.

Jayadeep and Darim noticed the men's odd behavior and it didnt take a genius to figure it out: _**It was a Templar trap, since this was the only way the had of getting them because so many people were around.**_

Both of them steeped up forward, but just at that moment, and without even thinking; Evie reached forward and grabbed Jayadeep's wrist, this was a trap she felt it; Jayadeep just turned around and gave Evie a look that said he was aware.

With that both, Darim and Jay left with the airport security

 

 


	11. Blackjak

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The assassins meet Blacjak and some tension occurs between Blackjak and Jayadeep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo fam, i is back; and Wednesday was a glorious day, the main man KSHMR had become the 12th most popular dj in the world and Martin Garrix is now #1dj in the world, immense respect to this two legends who inspire me everyday, to be a better someone.  
> Update: New OMC, based on my friend Enrique; enjoy!!!  
> Song: Afro Trap 3 (Champion's League) - MHD

 

Chapter 11: Blackjak

 

6:45 PM, LA International Airport, CA, US

 

Darim and Jayadeep walked with the two agents, they had no chance of overpowering them at the moment; their hidden blades and backup weapons were still in hold, so in short they had two options; either they went like sheep to the slaughterhouse or they found something that was qualified as a weapon and fought back.

They were led to what looked like an interrogation room, but they knew for a fact that was far more different.

"Here" One of the agents said, as he pointed his gun towards the door; both of them obeyed and headed inside.

The first agent came in and as the second was closing the door, as the man shut the door; a swift glance was passed between the two boys.

Suddenly Darim charged toward the first agent, just as the second one aimed his gun; Jayadeep made a grab for the gun, as he locked the joint on the man's wrist and kicked his feet from beneath him. Darim dodged the man's punch and swiftly delivered his own in the man's gut, and pinned him down against the wall; as he took his gun. Jayadeep aimed his at the other man's head.

"We know you aren't Airport Security agents" Darim said to the men, with a matter of factly tone.

"So you better drop your act, and tell us where's the rest of your team?" Jayadeep said, he didn't like the way this was looking.

The men didn't even have a chance to answer, before the lights went off and someone entered the room; and shot them, with practiced ease.

In total darkness, and using his eagle vision; Darim fired and one of his shots managed to hit the intruder, by sheer luck

Just as the shot got its hit marker, the lights flickered back on.

Darim and Jayadeep wasted no time and crossed the room to where the intruder was, the bullet had gotten him on his calve; which to be perfectly honest had been one damn lucky shot, all factors considered.

"Who the fuck are you?" Darim asked, as he eyed him; trying to find something that could be used for identification.

The boy said nothing but instead reached for his mask and pulled it down; revealing handsome features.

Chocolate brown eyes, dark hair, light brown skin, and a silly smile; and that defined the typical latino.

"Name is Blackjak, and I came here to help you, but I never expected getting shot on the process" the boy answered, as he tried to smile.

Darim dashed out the room to get help and to clean up this mess. As Darim left, Jayadeep decided to help Blackjak.

"Hey sorry for that, but who sent you to help us?" Jayadeep asked Blackjak, as he helped him sit up.

"Oh it was one of your companions, an old friend to be exact" Blackjak said as he put on his ear piece.

"Which one?" Jayadeep asked, he'd his curiosity moments ago; now Blackjak had his attention.

"Evie Frye aka The Golden Eagle, in the digital world" Blackjak answered as he tried to assess the damage done to his leg.

Jayadeep froze after he heard that; and he tried not allow his jealousy to interfere, but he couldn't help the fact that Evie was friends with thia guy, whom in his honest opinion wasn't that hard on the eyes.

And then again a little voice reminded him something very important: _**She isn't even your girl!!, why should you care?!?!**_ ; and that voice sounded a lot like his cousin, Raveen.

But that didn't make him reason any different. 

Luckily Darim came back soon it was his turn to get out of the room; because he felt if he stayed a moment longer he was going to strangle the poor guy.

* * *

 

 8:00 PM, San Francisco, CA

 

Johan was so glad he was back home and just in time for his midterms, after that he just needed to wait for the school year to be done; then it would be off UC Davis.

Which had made his family an offer to cover his studies with 2 scholarships one for Academics and the other one for Soccer; that on itself had all of his college years covered.

But something better than that was, the fact that his family would be complete again after so long.

Of course on the way to the DedSec hideout, he had noticed Jayadeep's uneasiness towards Blackjak; and to an extent he knew why such thing was.

Jayadeep was jealous of Blackjak, since he'd said Evie was an old friend of his; and that was enough for Jayadeep to start spinning crazy theories on his head.

Johan couldn't help himself but to roll his eyes; honestly who could be that shy to tell the girl he liked, about his ffeelins, but was willing to fight other guys about their opinions of said girl.

* * *

 

 8:15 PM, DedSec Headquarters, San Francisco, CA

 

Tiger felt butterflies in her stomach; it had been so long since she had seen Darim, and even though she'd never doubted his faithfulness, it didn't help that he was that so ridiculously handsome and he studied so far away.

Sighing at her silly thoughts, instead decided to help Wrench to extract the chip from the last robot.

"Need a hand, Wrench?" Tiger asked him and he nodded.

"Yeah, can you pass me the welder" Wrench said as he took another look at the robot, the chips were difficult to extract; since the robots had been manufactured that way to stop thieves or for that fact; hackers, from stealing the chips.

"Worried?" Marcus asked as he passed by handing one monster to her and set another one near on a worktable near from where Wrench was working.

"Yeah, but its just silly so I probably shouldn't be worrying" Tiger answered, as she opened her can and took a sip.

"Look Darim looks like he is a decent guy, so if he has half a brain he wouldn't try to do that" Wrench said, as he walked over to the workbench and took the monster.

"Yip, I agree with Wrench and I guess that's more than I can say in one day, so tell me when they are here 'cause I need to get me some sleep" Josh said, as he walked off.

* * *

 

 9:00 PM, Unknown Location, San Francisco, CA

 

The group of assassins went to the safe house after Johan had promised to deliver a message to Marcus in person saying they would start with the mission tomorrow.

Also to be perfectly honest, there was just a lot of tension between Jayadeep and Blackjak; now that was something Johan didn't wanted to deal with.

As he showed the guys their rooms, he thanked God that tomorrow was a half day, so lets things to worry about.

But as destiny would have it, Blackjak wanted to talk to him.

 _ **Now what???,**_ He thought as he showed Manny and Darim the place where they would be staying.

After all was done he went to talk to Blackjak.

"Yeah what do you want to talk about?" Johan asked, as he took off his snap back and ran and hand through his short hair

"Why does Jayadeep seems to have a problem with me?" Blackjak asked his friend, for he was supposed to help them but how; if he didn't get along with one of the team's member, things wouldn't go very smooth.

"Oh, that because of Evie, he has quite the crush on her; and let's say that when you told him you were friends he spun some story in his mind" Johan answered the question, as he internally sighed; he had thought it would be something worse.

"Well that would explain much" Blackjak offered.

"Yeah" Johan said as he yawned.

"But if he likes Evie that much, why he hasn't asked her out?" Blackjak asked as he sat down slowly; after all he still needed to get his leg fixed.

"Jackson, I don't know; but you're welcome to ask him" Johan replied with annoyance, sometimes his friend could be a total annoyance.

"Know what maybe I will" Jackson responded.

"Jack that isn't a good idea after all your brother did dated Evie for a while, when he still was with the assassins" Johan said, he knew this wouldn't be a good thing to happen.

Jackson just shrugged and left.

Leaving an open-mouthed Johan on the assassin's safe house.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos, suggestions, comments, and death threats go to the same inbox :)  
> Also it isn't to late to write some other AC Characters into the plot, just tell me which one tou eant to see added and how.


	12. Soldier

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team learns why the Californian brotherhood is divided, and Freddy finds something important, we get to see what the hackers are fighting agaisnt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I is bck fam, with another chapter has come with me, after being MIA in writting this fic, tooo much AP Prep classes schoolwork, and other things have kept away from this; hope you enjoy this one.  
> and The main man KSHMR just released Extreme with Bassjackers the 24th; and the Spook Returns with Badjack and B3nte, so go listen, jk XD  
> Songs: Soldier -Blasterjaxx ft. Breathe Carolina

 

Chapter 12: Soldier

 

8:30 AM, Unknown Location, San Francisco, CA

 

Manny had been awake for an hour or so and he was just happy to be back home; so he decided to go see if his brother was around, to ask him if he wanted to go surfing. After all one of their favorite sibling activities was to go surfing  in the afternoon.

Upon not finding his brother he decided to go to the beach by himself, since it had been a while since had played beach soccer, let alone surfed or done anything worthwhile; even though he had played soccer with Darim and Jayadeep for their college, and that had been great he had always missed the feel of the sand beneath his feet.

And just as he was about to walk out the door, he received a text from Wrench.

**_Wrench (DedSec)_ **

_**Yo, Manny i trust u haven't forgotten ur people s supposed t meet us.** _

_Nope. They haven't, Jay knows and I'm sure he will tell the team as soon as he can._

**_Noice_ **

**_BTW, you still owe us some rounds in Long Beach; and im solely accounting you responsible for that._ **

_Im a man of mi word, ill buy u guys drinks as soon as this mission ha been successfully completed._

_To celebrate the victory._

_**Man, are you planning on seeing your dad?** _

_Yea, how is he?_

**_He is fine, recovering from his last injuries._ **

_Wat happened?_

**_Did Johan not tell u, Wat happened_ **

_No_

**_Your dad was injured while protecting the rightful leader of the Californian brotherhood_ **

_When did dis_ _happened_ _?_

**_About 2 or 3 days ago, but it surprises me ur bro didnt tell u_ **

_Oh, im sure i would have been the first to learn about it; just he didnt know._

**_WAT U MEAN?  
_ **

_I have a feeling someone is disrupting the message of the Brotherhood form the inside._

_Do me a favor and investigate who might be behind it_

**_K, i got u fam; but that will be accounted as an extra round for me._ **

**_:D_ **

_You jak_

**_;/_ **

**_ALSO i have very important info 4 u_ **

_k, ill send someone else to get it cuz i cant, and Darim is jet lagged_

**_k then who????_ **

 

 

At the moment Manny hadn't thought of an someone in specific, so he decided not to reply at the moment; just Manny picked up his soccer ball and Adidas duffel bag, he decided to ask Jayadeep to do that favor for him. 

* * *

 

 

10:30 AM, Room 106, Berkeley High School, Berkeley, CA, US

 

Johan was in his German class, as he tried not to fall asleep; sure he was in AP Classes and was expected to fulfill all his student duties no matter what. But there was the problem; how was he supposed to complete said duties when he was trying not be captured or killed, stay out of the way of his Dad's and Uncle's way as they battled for the two candidates that would control the Californian Brotherhood, and many others that were capable of filling up an entire list and keep on going.

As he was immersed in his thoughts, he didnt even noticed the teacher had just asked him question and the whole class was starring at him; until Jackson nudged him with his foot.

"Mr. Gutierrez, I asked you a question; would you care to answer it, since you were paying attention" Mr. Meyer asked, looking at his student in the eye; as he spoke.

 _ **Oh right I'm still on this fucking class,**_ Johan thought as he tried to get his brain to remember the question, and failing majestically; so he decided to ask the question again.

"Mr. Meyer, I'm afraid I my short time memory fails me; what was the question again" Johan asked as he tried to look unfazed by the fact that 30 pairs of eyes were staring him down.

"How do you say The Iron Brotherhood in German, young man?" Mr. Meyer replied, and Jackson did his best not to burst out laughing upon seeing his friend's expression.

Johan knew how to say it; but right at this fucking moment his brain betrayed him and didnt let him answer the question, worse of all he was making a fool of himself in front of Fernanda; which was pretty disastrous on its own.

"Die eiserne Bruderschaft, sir" Johan answered, as he sighed internally he had finally been able to remember the correct translation to German.

The professor only nodded in approval, and went back to the board; as he did so all the onlookers also directed their gaze to the font of the room, and Johan slumped on his desk; cursing under his breath, the reason why he hadn't taken Spanish as a second language.

Just as Mr. Meyer wrote something on the board Johan took the opportunity to glance at his phone, after all he had learned how to send Whataps messages without looking, but whenever he got one,he needed to look; whcih was the case at that precise moment. he had a message from Freddy.

 

_**Fred (; -;)** _

_**Jo i have bad news for the team** _

 

And without thinking of the consequences he replied.

 

_Wat news?, something bad happened over there_

**_No, just I found some things that might be of interest_ **

_Look, Fred im on class right now; you could call me in an hour and a half, id very very grateful._

**_k, man._ **

 

As soon as Johan was in the process of typing out a reply, Mr. Meyer came and confiscated his phone until the end of class; and ta that point Johan felt like he was going to murder Jackson if he didnt stop smirking.

* * *

 

 4:30 PM, Chelsea, UK

 

Freddy had just finished typing out his reply to Johan, when Lucas barged in and went to his gaming station,just behind the DJ Booth; possibly to let out some steam, so Freddy decided to leave him be.

One way or another he still needed to make sure Ned came to work, so there was that.

Things had been getting a lot more heated in London, since Darim and the others left; there had been more gang wars and brawls on the streets than in before between the Rooks and the Blighters..

Which wasn't exactly too good for the businesses, since people were extremely afraid to go out past 7:00 PM, despite the police's efforts; to keep everything under control.

But then again there was always a good chance someone would walk on a brawl at the wrong moment, and Freddy silently prayed; that someone wouldn't be Jacob.

Ned eventually arrived; and Freddy didn't fail to notice the fact that the crafty thief had gotten some new electronic equipment, and despite his unfavoritism towards criminal activity; he helped him unload it; forgetting completely about calling Johan.

 

* * *

 

 

11:15 AM, Room 106, Berkeley High School, Berkeley, CA, US

 

German class was finally over; and Johan felt like he could take a deep breath for surviving the day, until Mr. Meyer said he had to stay after the rest of the class had left.

So as he stayed on his spot, he shot back his friends a glance, who tried to hold their laughter; but failed miserably.

Johan resisted the urge to slump down and instead waited for his teacher to say something; which took a while.

"Johan, I'm aware you had to travel a long distance to fulfill one of the Brotherhood's assignments; but that is no excuse for not paying attention in my class, let alone causing a distraction" Mr. Meyer said matter of factly, he was a part of the Brotherhood as well, so he knew the whereabouts of the other members.

"I'm really sorry for disrupting your class, it's just I have a lot on my head lately; and I just feel that I might have a lot more that i can handle on my plate right now" Johan answered as he rubbed a hand across his face.

"Its okay, I know the feeling quite well; but if you need to talk to someone within the Brotherhood, who isn't involved in their struggles for power; then I'm here." Mr. Meyer said as he handed him back his phone.

"Thank you, sir" Johan replied, as he stuffed his phone; in one of his short's pockets.

"And congratulations on UC Davis" the professor added, as he took a stack of papers to grade.

Johan nodded and left the classroom; he needed to make up a lot of work for the upcoming week, and if he was planning on sleeping; he would have to start as soon as he got home.

* * *

 

1:00 PM, Berkeley, CA

 

 Jayadeep had left the safe house about 2 hours ago, and was currently on the neighborhood where he had grown up, he knew this place up and down, his friends and himself had spent countless afternoons skateboarding or playing soccer here, this was a place that held so many memories.

It felt strange to be back home after such a long time, especially since the last time Jayadeep was here, he just wanted out; but all things considered it was good to be back .

One of the reasons why he was there instead of being in San Francisco, was Wrench. The guy had told Manny he needed important information to relay, and even though Darim was the one supposed to be retrieving the information, he'd had spent his night at his girlfriend's house, and slipped back into the safe house during the early morning; hoping that nobody would notice his whereabouts. So he had to cover for him.

But when it came to his friends whereabouts, Jayadeep was a smart guy; even though he knew, he never asked about them, since if they weren't in trouble with the police, then he rather not know.

Even in the information he had gotten from Manny, he hadn't gotten an exact meeting place,  only a piece of advice from his friend " Don't look for him, he'll find you; eventually".

Which on his humble opinion was, the most theatrical and useless piece of information; that he had ever heard, which in Manny's account suited Wrench's personality, but as soon as he was done thinking that Wrench had appeared, seemingly out of nowhere and was currently standing in front of him.

"Sup man " Wrench said, he felt an slight deja vu when he looked at this guy.

"Hey" Jayadeep said as he took off his headphones.

"So you're the runner?" Wrench tentatively, since he knew many enemies could be watching their every mode.

"Yeah, Darim couldn't come here, he was apparently jet lagged" Jayadeep said, as he shrugged.

"Well what is your name, then?" Wrench asked,.

"Jay" Jayadeep answered as he looked around, for possible foes.

"Like Jay Z, the rapper?" Wrench asked, as he tried to hold back his laughter; Jayadeep just frowned slightly

"Yes and no" Jayadeep answered Wrench's oblivious question, and then he added "but making fun of my name isn't exactly the purpose of this exchange"

"Yeah, sorry man; well I just wanted to tell you the hackers we have in LA killed off the rest of the Templar convoy yesterday, so now Throne and Kozlov, have no aid" Wrench said, as he adjusted his mask; one of the top two bad things about wearing it was that 1) He attracted too much attention, and 2) It could be very stuffy inside of it.

"Unless they call reinforcements from Monterrey or San Francisco, both are far enough from the Mojave desert" Wrench finished his sentence,aand Jayadeep tried to calculate the time the Templars might take form one place to the other.

"Yup, and we will slow them down as much as we possibly can, before they get to your team" Wrench stated, since at the moment he was focused on staying on the shade.

"Thank you" Jayadeep said he stretched his hand in Wrench's direction, who shook it.

"Hey no problem, also can you tell Darim; that he needs to stop by and see Farah" Wrench asked, and Jayadeep just smiled

"I will, even though I have the feeling he already did that; last night" Jayadeep answered as he walked away, leaving behind a very puzzled Wrench.

* * *

 

1:35 PM, Johan's House, Berkeley, CA, US

 

Johan was in the middle of writing a report when someone landed  artlessly in his balcony, and he couldn't help himself but to roll his eyes at his brother's theatrical entrance.

"Well hello, lil' brother" Manny said as he walked to his brother's desk, and spied what he was writing over his shoulder.

"Manny there is a door downstairs, you know?" Johan said without looking at his brother, and continued to type his chemistry report.

"Yeah, I know; I'm just used to using the window as an entry point; hey do you still remember when dad prohibited us to use the front door and had us instead climb through the window free-running training, and the one time you didnt; he beat the crap out of you for it" Manny said with an smile; at that Johan couldn't help but to smile, he still remembered that; and even though it wasn't funny when it happened, but it certainly was now.

"Well, I know you didnt just come here to remind me of that particular memory; so why are you here Manny?" Johan asked turning to look at his brother.

"You now I wanted to see if you would be up to go surfing with me and the pack, but I think you have already too much." Manny said, at that Johan just knew what to do to finish his work.

"Actually I should be up for it, if you just help me with my Chemistry, Language Arts, and AP Calculus homework" Johan said nonchalantly.

"You can be real annoying sometimes lil bro; but I'll help you" Manny answered as he readied to help his brother.

* * *

 

 8:30 PM, DedSec Headquarters (Hackerspace), San Farncisco Bay Area, CA, US

 

After some hours of struggle the Guitierrez brothers; had finally been able to finish Johan's late work for the upcoming week, and had then gone surfing.

At the moment they were with the rest of the team in the hackerspace; and were just lucky enough to drop by just as the hackers, were talking to the main actor of the new Cyberdriver movie; Jimmy Saska.

The group didn't try to intervene or anything; so they just hung atoind awkwardly.

"So that is all about, New World?" Marcus asked, as he took notes in his laptop.

"Yeah that is all, I hope that is enough to put those bastards behind bars" The actor snarled.

"Oh trust me once word of this gets out; DedSec's popularity will skyrocket" Wrench said; and the rest of the hackers eyed him like he had just betrayed them.

"Which more computational power for bigger ops; and don't worry Mr. Saska, we'll get this sort out" Wrench said as he tried to save face; in name of the team.

"Yeah, this should be enough to have the New World Church leaders; put in federal custody" Josh said as he encrypted the data; and put it somewhere safe: namely a jumpdrive.

"Thank you for cooperating with us Mr.Saska" Sitara said in behalf of tge group.

"Well that the least I can do; considering I owe you kids my life" Mr. Saska said as he shook their hands.

The actor left a couples of minutes after; and both Marcus and Wrench couldn't believe that they just hadn't got to meet their favorite actor; but that they were going to help him get his life back in order, by shutting New World down.

Sitara and Josh just rolled their eyes and instead went to greet; the assassins.

"Hey guys, sorry for not gettting to you right away" Sitara said, and Josh waved at them.

"Hey, no problem...." Jayadeep said before Manny rudely interrupted him midsentence.

"Holy fuck, was that Jimmy Saska!?!?!?" Manny blurted out, and Jayadeep had to stiffle the need to smack Manny upside the head.

"Yeah, pretty cool right?" Wrench's robotic voice asked, as the electronic eyes in his mask changed into hearts.

"Dude that is fucking awesome!!!" Manny said; and it was Johan this time who had to hold back the need to slap his brother.

Like honestly, he didn't even know why his brother liked Saska's movies; they weren't even that original or interesting, they were the same old hacker that when things got hard became a sell out.

"Guys can we not, talk about this right now?" Josh half asked, half demanded the group.

"Um, yeah right sorry" Marcus said as he scratched the back of his head.

"Well so as Wrench already told Jay, our homies in LA; killed off the convoy, and I've confirmed Throne's and Kozlov's closest reinforcememnts are in Monterrey." Marcus said, as he pulled up an information exchange going on between Kozlov and another templar, in said county.

"Well that certainly, leaves them virtually unprotected" Ranjiv said as he attently listened to the feed.

"Exactly; so even if they try to get to you, we'll slow them down" Wrench said, as his electronic eyes now took the shape of explosions.

"But there still is one minor problem" Darim said, and after thinking it throught if was a very obvious one " If we get caught in the crossfire between the two branches of the Brotherhood, we're as good as dead" 

"Yeah that is the only thing we can't come up with a solution for" Josh said, and he looked rather disappointed; for he was an engineer and he usually was the problem solver of the team.

Johan just sighed and shrugged he didn't liek their current situation any more tahn they did; but the fact the war between the two sides of the Brotherhood was an impediment made him angry.

Couldn't they see, that if they kept on fighting they would loose an extremely powerful artifact to the Templars???

"Well I don't know if this is just me; but last time I was here there wasn't a war going on; anyone can catch me up?" Manny asked, he was no fool; he knew a war was going on but had no idea who started it or why.

"Sure bro, I suppose Jay and Evie would also like to know why" Johan said, as he took of his snapback and ran a hand through his short hair.

"Well, it all began about six months after you left for college; and it began when the old mentor, Saul died; his two sons wanyed to lead the brotherhood on their own, even though tehir father had explicitly told them to share power equally" Johan said; as he took a deep breath Wrench ran off to get himself some popcorn and came back back just in time for the rest of the story.

"After that both brothers started gathering supporters; and things got heated up real quick, whenever three or four people, that were assassins, weren't shot during a drive by, it was because the good Lord was smiling down on us; so that's when our uncle and dad took sides, and well since then; We have all been more preoccupied with staying alive rather than stoping the problem" Johan shrugged as finished telling his story; and Manny, Evie and Jay, couldn't believe this was possibly the truth.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fam, i hopes u is enjoying this,as much as im; and i want to thank you sooo much for all the hits, kudos and comments; it reallg makes my day to see your supportive comments.  
> Also as you have notice the DedSec HQ, is knkwn as the HackerSpace in the game; ill go back and fix that since i just learned off that yesterday; cuz one of the RadBrad's ealry Watchdogs gameplay; also it is now public knowledge the hacker are fighting the same antagonist- Blume and i suppose one of its branches its the New World Church.  
> As always kudos, comments, suggestions and death threats; all go to the same inbox


	13. The Spook

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> DedSec don't know where the precise location of the Artifact, Jacob and Freddy go to meet Roth, Kozlov struggles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Halloween everyone; as you know im back at it again, hopefully in a normal schedule of writing; so expect updates regularly.  
> Thank you soo much for unconditional support; if you celebrate Halloween or are planning on trick or treating; plz, plz, plz, plz, plz be safe dear readers; stay away from killer clowns and hungry spooks. :)

 

Chapter 13: The Spook

 

9:00 PM, DedSec Headquarters (Hackerspace), San Francisco, CA, US

 

The assassins had been on the Hackerspace for over half an hour or so; trying to draw some strategies for tge extraction of the Artifact.

Johan had been somewhat distant during the exchange; and spent most of the time laying in the sofa and looking at his phone.

So Jayadeep had decided to cheer him up a bit.

"Hey vato" Jayadeep said to Johan, as he looked at the boy; to an extent he could guess what he was thinking about.

"Hey J-dog, everything cool?" Johan answered while asking his own question.

"Yeah, funny I was about to ask you that" Jayadeep answered, as he smiled at the nickname Johan had picked for him; certainly that one was better than Jacob's.

"Yeah, I just feel frustrated over rye Brotherhood's actions" Johan said, as he scrolled through his Instagram notifications; in a way it wasn't completely a lie, but just half of it; the other half was the fact that his dad was willing to fight a war that wasn't his own, for someone who didn't deserve such loyalty.

"Um, Why do I feel there something about this you don't want me to know?" Jayadeep commented, as he looked back to see his brother messing around with Wrench's mask facial expressions.

"Well Jay, you're certainly smarter than you look; if I do say so myself" Johan said, with a hint of mischief in his dark brown eyes.

"I know right" Jayadeep answered Johan's teasing with impish smile; and then added, "So what it's?"

"Well, my dad is fighting on the side of someone who doesn't deserves his loyalty" Johan said as he liked Fernanda's picture of her dog.

"Well I can't exactly say I relate; about feeling the way you do, because...." Jayadeep trailed off for a moment and then picked up, where he'd left off "You know why, but even then you're my friend; and I'll try to do what I can" 

"Thanks, I really appreciate you talking to me" Johan said; as he looked up from his phone.

"Hey, no problem" Jayadeep answered, and stood up; patting Johan on the back before going back to where the rest of the group was.

 

* * *

 

4:00 AM, Somewhere near the Thames River, London, UK

 

Jacob walked alongside Freddy as they went to meet the infamous gang leader; Maxwell Roth.

The Rooks had been moping the floor with the Blighters for a while now; which meant someone needed to step up and offer a truce.

Which Maxwell Roth; had done so over a phone call over a week ago.

Freddy had blatantly said it was a trap; but Jacob had countered by saying there were easier ways to kill an assassin than an ambush.

Freddy had ultimately agreed, but he wanted Lucas to contact the rest of the British branch of DedSec; so they could have eyes all over the city, should things go wrong.

Even though Jacob was a junkie for trouble and adrenaline; he couldn't exactly help to feel an slight shiver run up his spine.

 

* * *

 

11:30 AM, Somewhere in the Mojave Desert, CA, US

 

Andrew had been walking along the same route for a while now; he knew that as soon as he got news from his contact in London it would be go time, but that was the issue; he hadn't heard a single quip, from him.

That was beginning to worry him, since he couldn't get away with killing Thorne if no one else died; that was his cover; without that, things just weren't going o work out.

He knew it would only be a matter of time, Thorne figured out; that he didn't have the most remote idea, of where the Artifact was.

Something else that plagued his mind at the moment was the fact that he hadn't heard a single word from their convoy in LA, last time the convoy of mercenaries had reported to him had been about three days ago.

He needed to get things moving and soon.

 

* * *

 

 12:15 PM, DedSec Headquarters (Hackerspace), San Francisco, CA, US

 

As everyone knew assassins were nocturnal creatures; but not morning ones, that was where the problem was for Johan; he had school tomorrow and nobody seemed to have any idea of the precise location of the Artifact.

"So you really don't know the exact place?" Darim asked, as he tried to keep his fustration in check.

"I mean we know its there but; we don't know tge exact place" Wrench responded.

"Well that is just fucking great; it is not?" Manny commented.

"Guys can we not!" Johan said as he rubbed his temples; things were more complicated, than he wanted to deal with at the time.

"Yeah guys, let's not strees about this I have someone who can help us" Josh said as he went to get his computer.

Darim and Jayadeep looked in Marcus direction; and he just shrugged, he didn't know what Josh was talking about.

"I have this friend in Nevada, who know a sage; who knows where the Artifact is" Josh said as he established a secure communication channel with said friend.

* * *

 

Unknown Location, New Washoe City, NV, US

Thomas was awoken by the sound of his Skype notifications; as he checked his watch, he noticed how late it was.

"I swear to God, if this Wrench; I'll murder him on his sleep" Thomas muttered to himself, as he got up.

As soon as he opened his Skype; he saw the DedSec alert; and answered.

 


	14. Underground

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The teams finds someone who can help them locate the artifact, and Marcus finds some interesting facts about the Kozlov family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo fam im back at it again, and i feel so blessed by your support on this fic, its unreal we have reached over 200 hits, and i know 4 sure there are more to come. So thank you, and respect; also Quintino released his new track Underground, which is totally a banger so i recommend you go listen and enjoy!  
> Update: New OC  
> Song: Underground - Quintino

 

Chapter 14: Underground

 

2:45 AM Unknown Location, New Washoe City, NV, US

 

Thomas had expected this to be one of Wrench's stupid, late night calls; but the current situation was currently a whole lot more complicated that he could have imagined.

"Hey man, what's up?" Thomas said as he sat down in front of his computer.

"Not much kid, but hey can you help your DedSec brother out?" Josh asked from the other side of the line; he knew they could trust Thomas, he was the son of an assassin and a hacker; which made him trustworthy for both sides.

"Got you fam, what you need?" Thomas said, as he reached for a notebook that was lagging nearby and a pencil; he was used to doing equipment runs for the gang.

"Well we need some Intel" Josh answered, as he rubbed the back of his neck; he just couldn't believe that such Artifacts existed!

"The line safe, right?" Thomas asked in a whisper; and relaxed when Josh nodded.

"So we need you, to ask your brother the coordinates of the Artifact in the Mojave desert" Josh said, he knew there wasn't any better way to word this; so he just threw it without filter.

Thomas sighed and ran a hand through his hair; he knew it was unfair to be angry at the assassins for using his brother like an address finder, but there wasn't anything he could do. 

"Alright fam, I got you" Thomas said as he tried to come up with a way of talking to his brother; since he spent most of the day locked up in the assassin compound, and was only let out when it was dark and relatively safe outside.

Since he was a valuable chess piece, on this war.

"I appreciate that a lot man, I know I shouldn't be asking this of you but; thank you" Josh said, and Wrench came up behind him, to wave silently at Thomas.

He responded Wrench's action and then answered.

"Hey no problem, just tell the idiots that are going to do the extraction; that they better do it right, because there are people's lives on the line" Thomas said, and after that he closed his signal and went to bed.

 

* * *

 

 2:45 AM, DedSec Headquarters (Hackerspace), San Francisco, CA, US

 

"Well that could have gone a lot worse, than I expected" Wrench commented as his mask's eyes, turned into little explosions.

"Wrench, can you not?" Johan said, as he gestured in Wrench's direction with as much annoyance as he could manage.

Sitara, Josh, and Marcus turned to Wrench making Johan's plea a point, and Wrench only shrugged it wasn't his fault he was so damn truthful.

"So in the big time scale how much time we have until they find the Artifact?"  Darim asked as he pinched the bridge of his nose; he really needed to get some much necessary sleep.

"As far as we know they haven't got the slightest idea of where it is; so you guys might have a while, before they find out" Marcus answered as he checked the availability of DedSec members, in Southern California.

"So we just sit around, and wait for a reply; while the Templars get ahead of us?" Evie asked, as her annoyance was clear and visible on her features.

"Seems like that will be what we'll do for a while, now" Darim, said as he stretched his long arms.

Evie just huffed, but she knew that Darim was right; they didnt have any better options at the moment, and it was a more strategic option than going to the desert and running not Kozlov and Throne.

"Well, I agree with Evie; we can't just hope you friend would give us an answer, and even then there are two assassin hostages in the hands of Templars in Monterrey" Manny said, and Jayadeep nodded; they were assassins after all, and at the time they needed saving.

"We can't exactly force our way into a Templar facility can we, now?" Darim said facing the two of them.

Manny was opening his mouth to reply when Wrench interrupted him before he could even voice his thoughts.

"Actually we could, you are in need of help; and we have numbers and expert hackers and fighters." Wrench said, the other DedSec members -Johan included- approved of such desperate measures.

Darim just threw his hands up in sheer annoyance and slouched down in the sofa beside Johan.

"I'll take that as a yes" Jayadeep said, even though he knew it had been Narash's actions that got them into this mess; he understood why he had done, and knew he would have done the exact same thing if he had been on his shoes. 

Darim just groaned in frustration and closed his eyes, he could think about ways to solve this, later, much later.

 

* * *

 

 10:26 AM, Chelsea, London, UK

 

It had been over six hours since Roth had agreed to help him take down Starrick, now that had been something Jacob hadn't exactly been expecting; from the infamous gang leader. 

Now that was where he could stay ahead of the curve, as his father had always taught him to; he could always trick Roth and turn him in to the police force, but then there was a chance that he would be out as soon as he got in; after all the man had influence and power.

Freddy, on the flip side had been expecting all kinds of things; and he knew Jacob would more likely than not, would take the chance to rid London from Templar control; even if such thing came out from unexpected sources.

An that was the precise reason, why he'd made Jacob swear that he would turn Roth in, once the man had reached maximum usefulness to their cause.

"Freddy you don't need to luck, like we just made a deal with the devil" Jacob said as he popped his top hat back on.

"We'll he is the next to worst, you know" Freddy said, this was one of things about Jacob, he would never get used to or eve love; his outstanding recklessness.

"Yeah, but we don't have any better allies at the moment, so it's that or nothing" Jacob said nonchalantly as he checked his phone. Freddy could be just as bothersome as his sister was sometimes, but he really couldn't blame the guy; he was reckless, all thing considered.

"Well I would highly prefer nothing, to you getting killed" Freddy said, almost so quietly that Jacob just about missed it.

"Fredbear don't say that, I promise I'll be careful; I just need to do this, to prove to my Dad and the Brotherhood that I'm a worthy assassin" Jacob said as he turned to look at Freddy.

"I'm sure your dad it's proud of you; no matter why" Freddy replied.

"Well then you have no idea, how big an asshole my Dad is" Jacob said with an smile as they resumed their walking.

Freddy just smiled, and felt a little better after Jacob had promise him, that he'd be safe.

 

* * *

 

 3:45 PM, Aguilar's Graphic Studio, Barcelona, Spain

 

Cayetano was creating a new album artwork for Hardwell, when his phone buzzed in his jacket; and he eventually had to step out to answer that.

Now said reply came from Marcus, one of his DedSec friends; who apparently was in a jam at the moment.

So he decided to reply.

 

_**Marcus (DedSec)** _

 

_**Yo, man** _

_**I is need of ur help :D** _

 

_I got u fam, wat u need_

_**Know anything bout a guy named Andrew Kozlov?** _

_Kozlov u say?_

_I think someone with that last name is a big patron for the Ministry of Sound events_

**_Well I'll be damned_ **

**_This is worse than i thought possible 'O'_**

_Wat is it?_

**_The money they use to fund DJ events comes form human trafficking in the Mexican-American border_**

_What????!!!!_

_So is he like a mafia boss?_

**_Yup his Hq is in Las Vegas._ **

_NO Fucking way!!!!!_

**_Yea it is a reality, and i think the second part you wont't like...._**

_Marcus just say it quit stalling_

**_Most of the human trafficking is done in the border, any illegal is being kidnapped, crossed trough the Mojave desert and sold into slavery._ **

_Why would they risk crossing illegal through the American_ _border_

**_They don't risk shit; someone in the federal government is helping them, hide that._**

 

Cayetano didn't knew what to reply at the moment his mind was blank.

 

* * *

 

 6:30 AM, Unknown Location, San Francisco, CA, US

 

Manny woke up at the sound of his brother making beats in his room, which in all honesty; was loud enough to wake up the whole neighborhood.

Manny rolled his eyes and tried to back to sleep, but even that was unsuccessful, since he realized that Josh was calling him.

"Yeah, what's up man? Manny answered his phone as he sat up, on his bed.

"Not much, bro; just calling to tell you that my contact has the location" Josh responded from the other side of the line.

"What location?" Manny asked, it sounded familiar; but it was still to early in the morning for him to process the information.

Josh rolled his eyes and sighed internally, he should have guessed the fact that Manny wasn't a morning person, such as himself.

"Artifact location" Josh said, as he tied to reach for his jump drive, but failed miserably.

"Oh that, um my bad; okay so where is it?" Manny asked after realizing what his friend was talking about.

"Um, well the thing is somewhere in the Mojave city" Josh said, he had the bad feeling his friend wouldn't be very happy about how vague the location was.

"That is all you got, from a person who literally finds Artifacts like a GPS!!!" Manny said as he tried not to get angry over this issue.

"Well that is all he could dig up about it, he said the power of the artifact was..... Cloaked? I guess; anyways that it's better than what you guys have now isn't it?" Josh said, he knew that in terms of vague descriptions this was the winner; but even then it had been kind of Thomas to do this for him, but he couldn't' ask for anything else.

"I mean it is something but, we just can't hope to stumble across it; with our luck we'll probably get killed, before finding the Artifact" Manny answered as eh got up, and walked over to his computer, and then asked "Don't you have approximate  coordinates?"

"No, that is the closest guess; I told you Thomas' brother told both of us, that the energy was sort of cloaked so he couldn't get the coordinates" Josh said as he rubbed his face.

"Thanks man, I guess we'll have to wing that as well; see you in a bit" Manny said, as he ended the call.

Now he just needed to find a way to tell Jay and Darim about it, because this mission seemed absolutely impossible at this exact time.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo fam, thx 4 reading also be ready for the next chptr cuz its gon be lit.  
> As always respect, and kudos, comments, suggestions and death threats go to the same inbox.


	15. Colors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darim, Jay and Manny have been tagged by the ctOS; and must go to "The Farm" to erase their profiles, in order to break into one of the most secure buildings Abstergo has in California to save the Dhar brothers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fam i is back after a looooooooonnnnnnnggggggg time gone; but im back, don't worry i havent been deported by Trump yet (JK) but juts in the remote case it happens, I will finish this fic 4 u dear readers. 
> 
> Song: Colors - Headhunterz ft. Tatu

Chapter 15: Colors

 

8:30 AM, Hackerspace, San Francisco, CA

 

Marcus had called the guys about 30 minutes ago; the rest of DedSec had voted, and they had agreed to help them, which was amazing.

But while digging around more about Kozlov's family he'd found that his family was a major shareholder, in Blumes enterprise; which on his exact words was absolutely shit.

Another thing he found absolutely worrying, was the fact that in the short time the assassin team had been in Cali; Jay and Manny had already been tagged into the system, even though details were vague about them, it wasn't a very good position to be on.

"Yo, man why the long face" Johan said, as he casually strolled in.

He was wearing a FC Barcelona shirt, Adidas joggers, and Futsal shoes.

"Not much man, how about you?" Marcus said, and then he added " Don't you have school today?"

"Nah, took the midterms; so I'll be free for 2 weeks or so" Johan answered with a shrug.

"Nice, Btw the rest of DedSec voted yesterday; and they have decided to help you kids" Marcus said with a shit eating grin, upon noticing Johan shocked expression.

"That is so fucking amazing, dude!!" Johan said as he high fived with Marcus.

"Yo, Marcus where is the rest of the beers?" Wrench's voice came from somewhere near his workstation.

"Um, Sitara took it; she told me to keep you off the juice" Marcus responded.

Marcus answer was acknowledged with a grunt from Wrench.

"So anything you have to tell me?" Johan asked as he put on his Afrojack snap back.

"Yeah, and I think this is something J-dog and your bro should know about" Marcus responded as he pulled up their CTos' profiles.

"Shit, this is not good" Johan said, as he leaned closer to see. Wrench came over to where the two Hackers were, as soon as John had cursed; and upon looking at the data in the monitor, he agreed with Johan.

"Yup, this doesn't look to hot" Wrench said as his electronic eyes turned into frowning faces.

"How and when did they get tagged?" Johan asked as he read through their records, which to say at all were ridiculously vague on details.

"About two days ago since we last met" Marcus answered as he accessed another bank of data.

"That day Manny and I were surfing, and Jay had gone visiting his mom and sister" Johan answered, and a frown took over his face; then he added "How the fuck did they id them, and why not me."

"Flying drones" The answer came from Josh, who had just got there and looked like he hadn't slept at all.

"Motherfucking flying drones?" Wrench asked, now this was new; Blume usually was more focused on targeting Californian citizens rather than "tourists".

"Yeah, I got wind on the street from Horatio; those fuckers are everywhere now" Josh answered.

"Well why did they tag my bro, but not me?" Johan asked Josh.

"Blume has suspicions about you, but he can't id you because you are a public figure; besides the fact that you're Spinnin' Records and Mainstage Music' protegee, makes you less likely to a cyber attack led by Blume, about the same as Martin Garrix or KSHMR " Josh answered as he placed down his laptop.

"Well we have to do something, right?" Johan asked them.

Wrench and Marcus turned and shared a knowing look and an impish smirk.

"I have a plan, but I have a feeling J-Dog and your bro won't like it" Wrench said as his electronic eyes, took the shape of little devils.

 

* * *

 

 

10:30 AM, Stub Hub Center, CA

 

Jayadeep, Darim and Manny; had been walking around the LA Galaxy stadium, the Stub Hub Center; they were both fans of this team ever since they had been small and there was a time when they both played at the LA Galaxy's academy, in hopes of ever becoming like the soccer players they looked up to.

But all of that had changed when they had their first blooding, and they became assassins; any other dreams had vanished long ago.

Nonetheless, it was good to remember and understand why memories and dreams make people who they are.

"Yo, J-dog remember when we used to play, here in the academy's ground after hours; and once we almost got caught" Darim said as he looked in his friends direction.

"Yeah, and if I remember correctly; it was your fault for being so slow" Jayadeep answered as he shoved his fried playfully.

"Talk about slow, the champion of slowness was Manny, over here" Darim said , as he smacked Manny in the back of the head.

"At least he played better than you, ever did" Jayadeep answered.

"Yup, you were never good as a Full or Central back" Many said, as he shot Darim a devilish grin.

"Yeah but I was the best center mid, the team had; otherwise Mr. Hotshot over here, would have ever gotten noticed by the scouts" Darim said as he dodged Jayadeep's lazy attempt to hit him.

"Well, after all some of us are actually born to do something greater than ourselves, Darim" Jayadeep sad, with an smile.

"Oh please, don't pull this philosophical shit on me right now vato." Manny said as he faked a heart attack.

The three boys laughed, and after they had calmed down they felt the phones buzz at the exact same time; something they had been expecting, since they were in Marcus group chat.  
  


_**Fam (DedSec)** _

 

_**Yo, guys it's me Wrench; Jay's gf told me you're at the Stub Hub  Center.** _

  _Dude, Evie isn't my gf_

**You know u would want her to be right???? I'm right?????**

 You is Darim :D

 

Ugh you guys are totally disrespectful of me.

What did i do to deserve this.

 

**Well besides being our friend..... nothing :D**

**Okay ppl u got ur daily share of bothering my friend, get to da point Wrench**

**Right, u guys gotta meet us, in the Blume ctOS Server Farm in the bay area.**

_Dude you can't be serious that like almost seven hour drive from here :/_

**_Yeah im with J-dog on this one, we can't spend all that time unless this is a matter of life or death._ **

Wrench r u sure this can't wait?????

_**Unless you want Blume after your sorry assess, when we break into Asbtergo's building to break your buddies out** _

**_Then_ ** _**i suggest you come to wipe out your personal profiles.** _

_Wait how the fuck did we get tagged????_

_And when????_

**_About 2 or 3 days ago, when you were visiting your mom in Berkeley, and your sister in UC Davis._ **

**_And when Manny was out surfing with his brother, Darim was out in the bay area with Tiger._ **

**_HOW????? Flying drones, the details they have on you guys are scarce and vague  but Marcus is an strategist._ **

**_So he knows that this can become a problem if not ended right way_ **

Well, shit this was unexpected; so I guess we have to go; yes or yes.

_I guess we do_

**Right, then Wrench we'll meet you guys there.**

 

After the three boys had send their replies to Wrench, they left the stadium and went to get their things ready for the nightly op.

 

* * *

 

 

5:30 PM, Kenway's Mansion, London.

 

Jacob had been on the Kenway mansion for the last couple of days after his father had gotten jumped by a pocket of Blighters, despite the fact that his father was stable at the moment; but that the injuries his father had gotten had been extremely severe; the initiates that were with him had been cut down to pieces, and the others had just fled as soon as they were getting smashed.

If it hadn't been for George then, his dad wouldn't have made it out alive; it had been ridiculously lucky; that George had been there, but luck hadn't been on their side all the way, even though his father was stable at the moment, he knew even the smallest of injuries could cause the biggest of issues.

And that was scary, he had always complained about how the old man always saw him as a child, that constantly needed reprimand to acknowledged it's place; but despite all his complaints, it was scary for Jacob to face this alone; he knew that if he told Evie what was going on, she'd leave the mission and come here, to help him deal with what was happening.

Despite their differences as siblings that sometimes would make him question their bond, he knew that Evie would be there for him; when he needed her the most.

"Jacob?" Connor called his name, as he patted his shoulder; he could imagine how hard it was for Jacob to deal with this sort of thing.

"Yeah, I'm here; just a little thoughtful, that is all" Jacob said, as he took out his phone and checked the DedSec social app, the app was gaining popularity in California and Chicago, which meant more computerized power for DedSec to run their ops.

"You, thinking?" Connor said with an edge of mischief; "Oh, thank you lord Jesus, for letting such rare miracle to happen."

"Fuck off, mate" Jacob said as he walked off to another place inside the mansion.

He really wasn't in the mood for Connor's antics, he just needed sometime to reflect by himself; preferably in a quiet place"

 

* * *

 

 

9:45 PM, Blume ctOS Server Farm, San Francisco, CA

 

Marcus and Wrench had made it to the place where the guys would meet them, on Sitara's petition they promised not to get themselves killed,and since this was an extremely risky operation; Ranjiv, Johan, and Evie stayed back at the Hackerspace; since this mission required "professionals", in which Manny was the exception, since the next best thing he could do was create artwork in his computer, since Horatio was running a solo op, they were a man short; which was the only reason why Manny had been allowed to come on the first place.

"Okay guys this is simple, Manny and I will be on the lookout for guards; while you guys wipe clean you ctOS profiles" Wrench said, as he checked his stun gun; this was not going to be easy,getting in had been a full on nightmare; then things could get a lot worse.

"Okay then, Marcus what are we looking for exactly?" Darim asked as he cracked his fingers, reading for some mad coding.

 "Anything that has to do with three of you, wipe that clean and you'll be ghosts, just like us; and that can keep you safe" Marcus said as he opened his laptop, and started hacking.

"Whoa there Marcus, aren't you going to help us; I mean neither of us has actually hacked into such a large database" Jayadeep said, as he tried his best no to be nervous.

"Look, vato I only did this once; and I know you can hack into this with no problem, just trust your instincts and all will be fine" Marcus answered and Wrench nodded.

As Darim and Jayadeep wiped clean their ctOS profiles, Marcus scavenged through the data for something useful DedSec could use against Blume.

The guards were still oblivious to what was happening in the server, until the lights flickered off; that is when Wrench knew things would turned upside down.

"Guys did you do that?" Marcus whispered, over to Darim and Jayadeep.

"No" Darim answered.

"It wasn't me either" Jayadeep said as he doubled checked he hadn't done by accident.

"Sitara, we got a code red; all the lights just went off, and it wasn't a power outage; the servers are still running" Marcus informed Sitara over the channel; Sitara just frowned, this wasn't a good omen; which probably meant one thing, Prime Eight.

"Marcus camera's are working, you're right it isn't a power outage; get out of there now" Sitara said as calmly as she could.

"Sitara, Josh tell me what the actual fuck is going on" Marcus said as he signaled Wrench to keep watch.

"Marcus, we think that Prime Eight is right there, and if you guys don't get out of there ASAP; bad things will happen" Josh said over the channel to Marcus as he frantically tried to see the feed of the other security cameras; every single one showed the same feed from five minutes ago.

Before Marcus gets a chance to think what to do, an explosion hits the ctOS farm, and everything around him becomes chaos.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cliffhanger!!!!   
> Oooops my bad, but i did warn you guys im the cliffhanger type of author :D  
> Anyways wat do you think will happen, tell me in the comments.  
> And as always Kudos, Suggestions, Comments, and Death threats all go to the same inbox :D


	16. Lights Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jay, Manny, Wrench, Marcus and Darim meet T-Bone and Jordi, Ranjiv and Johan save Horatio from certain death, cause a blackout in Oakland County and Manny sends a clear message to the Tevez gang, the corrupt OPD and Blume.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo! wazzup mi ppl im back; and before you stone me, i remind you this is an AU and fussion, so this will be loosely based on the Watchdogs_2 storyline even tho, i will write out some of the missions.  
> Get ready ppl, cuz this chapter will be lit.  
> Song: Lights Out - Alvaro & The Party Squad

 

Chapter 16: Lights Out

 

9:45 PM, Blume ctOS Server Farm, San Francisco, CA

 

Marcus could be a leader in any situation, but he wasn't great performance wise; when all hell broke loose. Which was the current situation; if Prime Eight was there, then that meant that the SFPD and the Feds would join the party soon, if they weren't already there; and well... nothing good could come out of that.

Wrench on the other hand was the guys that loved to "fucktify" shit up, so he wouldn't want to miss the chance to shoot some Prime Eight hackers.

"Guys get your shit, were bailing out, NOW!" Marcus said as he closed the backdoor he had created when he first deleted his ctOS profile a few months ago.

"Can't just leave of all this laying around man, the will track us" Darim said as he tried to download the rest of the data from the serves on his phone to lessen his computers workload.

"Worry about that later vato, we need to go" Jayadeep said as he got up and took out his Desert-Sniper.

Just as he had taken a defensive position near the door, Blume's security started lighting the place up.

"Wrench! Jay!, cover us" Marcus yelled over the gunfire as he looked for an exit.

The SFPD and Prime Eight had just joined the fun, and were currently firing at them and between themselves as well.

"Okay let's go guys, hurry!" Marcus yelled as he took out his stun gun, and knocked out cold, two cops.

As they dashed out of the place, they tried not to get hit by enemy gunfire; but the relative safety they felt for some minutes, was bound to change as soon as they stepped outside.

Where it became painfully apparent to the group that they were surrounded from all sides by Prime Eight hackers; in other less educate words, they were screwed.

"I'm taking the ones in the left, you got the ones in the right, Darim" Manny said as he reached for his gun slowly.

"Got your back, guys" Jayadeep said as he kept his finger on the trigger, dead on.

The Prime Eight hackers were closing in on them, when almost out of heaven; someone came to their rescue in a "customized" van, the driver ran over a few of the hackers; scaring most of them away, the few that stayed on their mark were soon taken down, by an expert sniper for the looks of it.

"Get in kiddos!" T-bone yelled as he cranked the van, and left the hackers eating dust.

"Shit man, that was intense!" Wrench said, as he threw his arms around a very shocked Manny and a very grateful Marcus.

"Who the fuck, are these people?" Darim asked Marcus, as he checked he hadn't gotten himself injured.

"Well kid, I'm Jordi Chin and that crazy motherfucker, at the wheel is Ray 'T-Bone' Raymond" Jodi said as he sat down beside Jayadeep.

"Wait, you're Aiden Pearce's wing men?" Jayadeep asked, of course there has been talk about a hacker attack in Chicago about three years ago; and it was a hot topic for everyone of his classmates in Computer Engineering.

"Not exactly, wing men; but we did help Aiden" T-Bone answered as he threw a glare back, and then said "Nice mask; kid"

"Nice hat" Wrench answered to T-Bone's compliment, and then asked "We cool?"

"Yeah, we cool" T-Bone answered as he gave Wrench a thumbs up, and the redirected his eyes back to the road once again.

"Cat got your tongue, or a your planing on being antisocial?" Jodi asked Marcus as he checked his sniper's magazine.

"Hell no, it's just you guys are legends; and I can't believe that you just saved us, much less that were are in the same car" Marcus answered, as he rubbed his eyes, just to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

"Yeah, believe me when we tell you get we that, a lot." T-Bone said as made a turn.

"Well, thank you for saving our asses back there, but how did you know how to find us?" Wrench said as his eyes turned into question marks.

"It's pretty easy to see when someone is hacking into one of Blume's data farms, we have worm trackers on them" Jordi answered as he showed Wrench his phone.

"So you caused the lights out, as a way to tell us, to get the fuck outta there?" Manny asked, as he tried to keep himself on check, he was one of T-Bone's biggest fans; and he was deadly sure of that.

"Nope not us, probably one of the Prime Eight punks, we are professionals not some amateurs" T-Bone said as he threw a glance back.

"I didn't mean any disrespect!!!!!!" Manny scrambled to say, when Jordi laughed and he saw T-Bone smirking.

"He's is just messing with ya" Jordi said, as kept on laughing.

Jayadeep, Darim, Marcus and Wrench soon joined and Manny wanted nothing more that to bury himself 6 feet deep under the sand. 

"Yo, again thanks for saving us" Marcus said once he'd calm down enough to speak.

"Yeah, anytime kid; but answer me a question, what the hell were you doing in a ctOS Farm?" T-Bone asked, once they had stopped in a nearby hackerspace.

 

* * *

 

10:05 PM, Hackerspace (DedSec HQ) San Francisco, CA

 

It had nearly been an hour since the lat time Marcus checked in, and Sitara was trying her best not to let her mind wonder over to worse case scenarios; Josh and Johan kept looking through cameras around the city, but came up empty every time; Tiger had already called on a few of the hacker friends in Chinatown and the Bay Area to look for them.

"Johan? found anything?" Sitara asked the teenager.

"Nope, not even a trace" Johan answered, as he turned his snap back backwards; a gesture he did often when he was trying to focus on something.

"Yo, I got something!" Ranjiv said, and before he could explain; everyone had gathered around him.

The video was taken from a place in Oakland, from a camera's security feed.

Horatio was walking through the park when two members of the Tevez Gang surrounded him, Horatio looked around for an exit as discretely as he could, but when one of the gangsters grabbed him the shoulder he punched the man straight in the face, just as he did that the second man, took a hold of hik from behind; as the first man approached again, Horatio kicked him; but his struggle was short lived when they picked him up; and tossed him into their car.

Before Sitara could process what she had just seen, Johan told Josh to get run a facial recognition, on the gangsters.

"Well, that one is pretty clear; Luis Travino, part of the Tevez gang" Sitara said as she read out his name from the ctOS profiling.

"That fucking asshole, works with Pablo the Skinner; whatever the hell they kidnapped Horatio for can't be good." Johan said as he went to get his duffel bag and pulled out a gun.

"Wait, you can't go after them" Josh said as he tried to kick some sense into Johan.

"Well someone has to; Marcus is out, so is Wrench. Besides I have an score to settle with those bastards" Johan said as he loaded his gun.

"You can't exactly fight off the baddest gang in Oakland by yourself, that be suicide" Ranjiv reasoned, taking Josh's side in the argument.

"Besides, your the last thing that Manny wants is that you get yourself killed over this" Evie said as she backed Josh's argument.

"Look people, I'm an assassin; and I can take this guys, I'm going to bring Horatio back. That's my decision and it's fucking final" Johan said, as he strolled out of the hackerspace; only stopping to pull up his mask.

Sitara, Josh, Evie and Ranjiv were left there standing in awe; and it wasn't long before Ranjiv took off after Johan, after promising that he would talk him out of it.

 

* * *

 

11:13 PM, Hackerspace (DedSec HQ) San Francisco, CA

 

"Your blackouts in Chicago, were fucking legendary T-Bone" Marcus said as he punched in the code to unlock the entrance to the HQ.

"I'm still more impressed by Jordi's marksmanship skill" Jayadeep commented as he straightened his bomber jacket.

"Sure man, whatever I'm still the guy who loves to fucktify shit up; so T-Bone for the win" Wrench said, as his eyes turned into smileys.

"Know what Jay, I'm seriously considering exchanging you for Wrench; I mean no offense but this lad is the shit" Darim said as he threw his right arm over Wrench's shoulder.

"Like it or not, you still would need me to pass Math class; since you can't even add 2 and 2 together" Jayadeep answered.

Manny, Marcus, Jordi and T-Bone laughed; at Jayadeep pointed comment.

Finally the door opened and the group walked inside, where their laughter stopped; as soon as they saw Sitara's and Josh's gloomy demeanor.

"Yo, Josh what's up, man?" Marcus said as he walked over to the mini fridge, and took out some beers.

"Where the hell where you guys?" Sitara asked, her tone masked well her rage.

"Oh we were in another hackerspace in Marin" Wrench answered as he lifted his mask up enough to gulp his beer down.

"And why the hell were you off the grid?" Evie asked, Jayadeep could see that she was somewhere between being annoyed and concerned; so he tried to explained; hoping that this wouldn't fuck up things even more.

"Well T-Bone, said that it would be safer for us to be off......" Jayadeep was cut midsentece by Sitara.

"You guys believed on the word of an stranger; he could have been planning to screw you over!?!??!" Sitara half yelled at them; the group went quiet.

"T-Bone is no stranger Sitara, he helped Aiden fucking Pearce in Chicago; I mean how fucking lit it's that!" Wrench said as he set his beer bottle down.

"Yeah, I'm aware of who he is; but I assume you know nothing of his so called 'collateral damage' caused by blackouts, right?" Sitara said, and watched Marcus and Wrench with the intensity of a hawk.

When neither of them answered that question, Sitara just shook her head and pushed Jordi and T-Bone out of the way to get her computer.

"We have a big issue now, 3 members of the Tevez gang, kidnapped Horatio; and your brother went to get him, Manny" Sitara said as she pulled up, the camera's security feed.

 "MY BROTHER DID WHAT!!!!!!!!!!" Manny yelled, Sitara just shot a look back to Josh and Evie; the just shrugged, they had expected this to happen.

That was when Jayadeep realized that his brother was nowhere to be seen, and he figured it out; Johan and his brother had gone to get Horatio back.

"I TOLD YOU HE IS MY RESPONSIBILITY, YOU GUYS WERE SUPPOSED TO WATCH HIM!!!!!" Manny exclaimed again, as he went to the 3D printer to get a weapon, cursing the fact that he'd dropped his gun, when they were getting the hell out of the ctOS farm.

"Wrench, tell me where the hell is the base of the Tevez gang?" Jayadeep asked, that was when Sitara realized that he had realized that his brother had gone 'to try to stop Johan'

"Oakland, Blackjak will be there so he will help you find their base" Wrench said as he pulled up his computer and send a quick message to Jackson.

"Well time to get those kids back here and Horatio" Marcus said as he loaded his stun gun, and pulled his mask up.

"Darim stay here and help Wrench; Jordi, T-Bone you guys can come with us" Manny said as he walked back and put on his DedSec mask.

"NO, no, no; guys the Tevez will see you coming I think that if only you, Marcus and J-Dog go, you'll have the element of surprise; they can help us keep eyes around Oakland just in case." Josh said a he furiously scanned his monitor for Johan or Ranjiv.

"Right then let's get the fuck outta here!" Manny said as he dashed up  the stairs and out of the hackerspace.

Marcus and Jayadeep followed, Manny; as soon as they got out of the hackerspace, they realized that Evie was tagging along too.

Manny didn't even registered that, he was focused on one thing only; getting his brother back to safety. Marcus only shrugged, after all; there was big chance that Manny would get hurt, so maybe another assassin on board wasn't the worst of ideas.

 

* * *

 

 

11:23 PM, Tevez Gang territory, Oakland, CA

 

"Johan, we can't go all Rambo on them; God knows how many of them are there" Ranjiv said, as he crouched down beside Johan, behind a house near the Tevez' gang base.

"Don't worry we just need to cause a blackout, then we sneak in, take Horatio and sneak back out" Johan answered, as he took out his flying drone, and the added "But first we need to see where do they have Horatio and a system key"

"Oh, man; your brother is so going to murder us both when he finds us" Ranjiv said as he looked around nervously, for possible threats.

"Huh? Oh don't worry, it's only going to be me; he might just yell at you" Johan responded as he checked another row of windows.

"I knew, I shouldn't have let you talk me into helping you." Ranjiv said as he pulled up his mask, and took his stun gun out.

Johan didn't bother replying, and just kept on checking until he found where Horatio was kept, he immediately hacked into the camera in the room, and moved up and down to signal Horatio that everything was going to be alright; who looked like had been beaten and might have some broken bones.

"Found him, he is somewhat injured; now for the system key and the blackout " Johan informed Ranjiv, who had relaxed a little.

"Thank God, he is somewhat okay; the system key should be easy to get, but for the record how many blackouts have you done before?" Ranjiv asked, it wasn't that he didnt trusted Johan; it was that if he didnt know what he was doing; then both of them would be screwed, big time.

"Um, I did this once; and by accident, so I think we are in good shape" Johan answered as he got the system key, and hooked into the ctOS grid.

"You think we are in good shape!!!!" Ranjiv half yelled, half whispered; all the while giving Johan a look that said "You are fucking insane"  

"Yes we are, now quit whining; and get ready" Johan said, he heard Ranjiv mutter something under his breath; but decided to ignore it, calling his drone back and putting up his laptop.

Johan had been praying that this would work, because if it didn't this could endanger Horatio even more.

But it did, and as soon as it happened; they heard the gangsters screaming in Spanish to one another to find out what the hell was going on.

"Let's go, he is in the third floor; last door to the right" Johan said to Ranjiv, they entered the blacked out base relatively easy; all the gangster were focused on getting the lights back on.

Soon the two youngsters made it to the third floor, using their eagle vision to not accidentally shoot each other. After a couple of minutes they found Horatio, who looked very relived to know his DedSec brothers had come to save him.

"Tauro, thank God you're here" Horatio said as Johan cut his bindings.

"Yeah no problem man, thank us later; now let's go we have about 5 more minutes before the police gets here to see what happened, can you walk?" Johan said, as he looked at the door.

"Yeah, but I think I  have some broken ribs, minor cuts and a concussion" Horatio said, as the two boys helped him up.

Horatio followed the Ranjiv out of the place while being helped to stay upright by Johan, but just as they were getting out someone stepped in front of them and shined a flashlight in Johan's eyes momentarily stunning him.

"Pinches hijos de puta!!, Cabrones se estan llevando al hacker!" The gangster yelled, Ranjiv soon knocked him as quickly as he could, but not quickly enough as the gangster had already tipped his buddies off.

"Horatio, Johan run that way; there is a ladder, I'll lead them off your trail, GO! NOW!" Ranjiv said as he made shot three times to alert the gangsters.

Johan did as he was told and got Horatio out of there, got back to the place where they had caused the blackout; as fast as they possibly could.

In the distance a light sub machine gun was heard, and Johan prayed that the rounds hadn't hit Ranjiv.

"Horatio, I'm going back; stay here, my brother should be here soon" Johan said but before he he could go; someone was holding him from the back his shirt.

"You're arent going anywhere brother" Manny said his voice as firm and cold as steel.

"No, Manny I have to; Ranjiv is there" Johan said as he struggled to get out of his brother's grip, upon hearing that Jay took off in the direction Johan was pointing at.

"Horatio how do you feel?" Evie asked Horatio as she checked for major open wounds.

"I'm fine, besides that; just some broken ribs, minor cuts and a concussion" Horatio answered.

Marcus took off and went after Jay, Manny stayed there holding his brother and keeping an eye in his surroundings while Evie patched Horatio up.

 

* * *

 

 

11:23 PM, Dusan Nemec's office, San Francisco, CA

 

"Yes, I'm aware of what they are doing; but they are our distraction, I assure you everything will be fine." Dusan said to a concerned Blume higher up, and then continued, "Absolutely, I have everything under control as soon as we can launch our satellites in space with Gallelei's help ; we should have the upper hand in this skirmish"

Someone entered his office at the moment and Dusan cut his briefing short.

"So nice to see you back here, I figured you'd come" Dusan said to the person in his office, and then added "Wine or Whiskey?"

"I'm not here to make pleasantries, Dusan; you said you had the damn location so where the fuck is it" The unknown individual asked.

"Well, there is no need to be uncultured about your visit, you know; after all our companies have been working together for a while now" Dusan said as he handed the individual a glass of whiskey.

"My father's company" The individual replied as he took a sip of whiskey.

"Well as far, as I know that old fool has no more than a couple of months to live and your older brother is more focused on getting funds from human trafficking through the desert" Dusan answered, as took a look through his window; and after a moment's passing he added "That only leaves you, but being under Starrick's foot doesn't serves your talents "

"I'm aware of that, the only way I can get that fool out of the way is tricking him into believing that I'll give him the Artifact for a price" The individual answered, and the added "and I need the damn location, to find it"

"I thought you had said Throne needed to go first, in order to execute your plan" Dusan said as turned around, and set his glass down.

"Yeah that is still the plan, but I need to know what happened to my convoy in LA" The person asked, this was the only reason why he had been very wary of coming here.

"Oh, as far as I know they were killed by an Assassin-Hacker, who was born in Long Beach, but besides that we don't have anything else on him." Dusan answered, and then continued "the assassins that are going after you were tagged a few days ago, but they destroyed ant pointers today; when they erased their profiles"

"They what!? And why the hell are you so calm about this?"The individual asked, Dusan just chuckled.

"Because patience is a virtue, my dear friend; and you'll need lots of it when your trying to find your Artifact" Dusan said,and then he sat back down on his chair, and then added "The piece is in Mojave city"

The unknown individual, was taking his leave when Dusan called him.

"Yes?" He asked.

"Arm yourself with patience my friend, you'll need it."

 

* * *

 

 

11:25 PM, Tevez Gang territory, Oakland, CA

 

Marcus and Jay made it to the Tevez base where the two of them didnt bother using stealth, but knocked the fuck outta anyone unlucky enough to cross their path; however eventually they were stopped by a couple of gangsters who started shooting at them, as soon as they were spotted.

Luckily there was decent cover nearby, and they dashed over in that direction.

"Marcus, keep their fire focused here; I'll get them from behind" Jayadeep said as he snuck out as carefully as he could.

Marcus did as he was told and started firing on the gangsters direction, drawing their attention to him, Jayadeep was quick to make it behind them; as soon as Marcus heard the yelp coming form the gangsters direction; he left his cover and took down the other's that were trying to shoot Jayadeep. 

Between the two, they took all of the gangsters down; but only one had managed to not get hit, and tried to volt; but Jayadeep was quick to get tackle him and punched the gangsters.

"Where the hell is my brother?" Jayadeep asked as he tried to keep his rage under control, just enough not to beat that guy to death.

"2nd floor,3rd room to the left; he is injured badly; that is all I know, please don't hurt me" the gangster responded as he spit out some blood.

"Marcus, stay here with this guy; I'm going to get my brother" Jayadeep said as he took off.

Marcus did as he was told and soon Manny and his brother walked in and helped keep things under controls.

Jayadeep had never felt this scared in his life, he remembered being young and his father telling him that he should always protect his little brother no matter what; he remembered promising that, and at that moment he knew that he would always keep that promise.

He bolted to the second floor and kicked open the room's door to find that his brother was holding his arm tightly, Jayadeep rushed to his side.

"It's fine bhai, I'm here; we are going to get you fixed don't worry" Jayadeep reassured his brother as he got in contact with Josh and Sitara

"Thanks for coming bhai" Ranjiv answered, he could tell that his injuries weren't grave; but he knew that his had been extremely worried.

"Anytime, but no more suicidal shit okay, promise?" Jayadeep asked his brother, as he extended his fist towards his brother.

"Yeah, I promise" Ranjiv said, as he bumped his brother's fist.

"J-Dog what the fuck happened? You guys okay?" Josh asked from the other side of the line.

"Yeah, we are fine; telling what just happened, it's going to be long; so do a favor for me and call the ambulance" Jayadeep said, as he helped his brother up.

"Sure, how bad is it?" Josh asked as the blackout had ended a few minutes ago, and he was finally able to use the cameras in the Tevez base; as well as the OPD comms.

"Um.. guys get out of there now, there are three patrols incoming, 15 mins approx arrival time; I'll call the ambulance once you outside of that area"

"Marcus, tell the others that were are bailing out, I got this guy." Jayadeep said as he took off his jacket and made a tourniquet around his brother's  arm

"Will do fam" Marcus answered, as he went to get the others.

Marcus walked out to tell Manny and Johan that they were bailing out, and Johan nodded getting out; but Manny stayed behind.

"Yo Manny, what's going on man?" Marcus asked as he knocked out the gangster they had been keeping under control. 

"Just had a fight with Johan that's all" Manny answered as he pulled up his mask.

"Trust me man, this will pass; but for now were are leaving" Marcus said as he patted Manny on his left shoulder; he knew this guy was a good person, and a great brother.

"Thanks man, but I think I'll stay here a while, just to leave a message to this motherfuckers" Manny said as he pulled out his aerosol can, and walked over to the nearest wall to leave a clear message, not only to the Tevez gang, but also the OPD and Blume: Don't fuck around with DedSec, we are a lot more powerful than you might think.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo, I made a change to the Artifact location, since the Techapie mountains aren't close to the Mojave desert so......  
> Forgive me for my inaccuracy the first time around, so don't question just enjoy (My mind wasn't there when I wrote that chapter, had a lot to do and think about so again, PLZ FORGIVE ME)  
> As always thx for your support and kudos, suggestions, comments and death threats all go the same inbox.


	17. Can't Take  It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shit hits the fan for the DedSec gang, Manny indirectly causes Evie to handle a very awkward conversation with Jayadeep's dad, and overall hits on the feels for most characters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo fam, wazzup.  
> Hope u had a great thanksgiving, xmas and a happy and sucessful new year  
> Im back with another chptr; and i just wanted to say thank u for being awesome and showing soo much support for this fic; i can't believe that we surpased the amount of hits and kudos that Legacy had; again, thank you lovely readers. -BL510  
> Also I've had the worst case of writers block u can possibly imagine, and life has been crazy for me with fianls coming up as well as trying to get signed with different record labels :)
> 
> Ps: this chapter has also been constantly refusing to be written for a while now, so :)
> 
> Song: Can't Take It - Breathe Carolina & Bassjackers ft. CADE

 

Chapter 17: Can't Take It

 

12:50 PM, Highland Hospital, Oakland, Eastern Bay Area, CA

 

It had been a while since Jayadeep's brother and Horatio had entered ER. In perfect honesty, they could have stuck around long enough for the police to show, and finished off the Tevez gang and the corrupt police officers in the OPD, but in retrospect; Jayadeep was glad they bailed when they did.

Marcus, Wrench, Johan and Manny had left about half an hour ago; since they had received an alert, they neglected to mention which kind; but then again it was fine with him.

The only thing that he wasn't looking forward to, was trying to explain to his Dad what had happened, which didn't lead to good things about 99% of the time.

Which on his expert opinion, was what would be likely to happen; given the fact that the exact same thing had taken place at least, 10.000 times or so.

Jayadeep was soon pulled out of his thoughts by Evie's voice.

"Here, I think you might need it" Evie said, as she handed him a cup of coffee.

"Thanks, I really appreciate it" Jayadeep answered, as he took the cup; and casted a glance over to the ER doors, after taking a sip of his coffee.

"Ranjiv and Horatio will be fine" Evie said, answering to Jayadeep's glance.

"I know they will; however I'm more worried coming up with an explanation, for my Dad" Jayadeep said as he squeezed his brother's snap back between his hands.

Evie lightly chuckled, and Jayadeep looked up; his brow raised in mild annoyance and amusement.

"What it's so remotely funny about this?" Jayadeep asked, as he tried to sound as annoyed as possible; but in reality, he couldn't really get mad at Evie; for any reason.

"Well, Jacob and Dad; have communication issues as well" Evie answered, with an smile.

Jayadeep just shook his head, and after taking another glance to the doors; he replied.

"Sure, I understand why Jacob and your Dad; don't click, first Jacob tends to do things then think about it; and second, your Dad isn't the most patient man in the galaxy either." Jayadeep answered at Evie's comment, making light of the situation; like he always did.

"Ugh. Tell me about it, it's impossible to be in the same room as them, when they argue" Evie said with an smile; and soo Jayadeep smiled as well.

After he did, she felt a lot better seeing him smile.

 _ **Okay that was actually 90% a lie,**_ a little voice in her head quipped; but she couldn't deny he had a gorgeous smile and she just enjoyed seeing it.

After that, the two of them settled in a comfortable silence; only to be broken by Jayadeep's phone buzzing; a message from his Dad, a couple of minutes after.

"Well, I guess he wants an explanation; and I haven't thought of one" Jayadeep said to Evie, as he got up and ran a hand through his hair.

"Hey, it will be fine" Evie said to Jayadeep, and after a moments passed by; she asked "Do you mind if I tag along?" 

"Uh..., no, not at all" Jayadeep answered as he rubbed his hand on the back of his neck; looking slightly nervous.

Just as the two of them were on their way to meet Arbaaz, Jayadeep's phone received a call from Manny.

After he had taken care of the call, he turned to Evie.

"I'm sorry Evie, I have to go; Manny needs me...." Jayadeep tried to explain to her, but was interrupted halfway through.

"It's okay, just tell me; what do I tell your Dad?" Evie answered, as she shot him a reassuring smile.

"Um, well; just tell him what happened. I'm truly sorry, you shouldn't have to be the one to deal with my Dad" Jayadeep said to her, as he prayed his Dad wouldn't be that much of an asshole towards her.

"It's okay, I owe you; for taking the fall for me and Jacob back home, besides that is what friends do" Evie replied.

"Thank you, I still wish it was someonelse who was dealing with him and not you" Jayadeep answered.

"Just go, before I change my mind" Evie teased gently, pushing him in the general direction of the exit.

"I promise, I'll make this up" Jayadeep said as he jogged to the exit.

Evie only smiled; and took a deep breath as she walked to meet Arbaaz.

Steeling herself for that particular conversation.

 

* * *

 

 1:20 PM, DedSec HQ (Hackerspace), San Francisco, CA

 

Marcus, Wrench and Manny; had gone to respond to the alert that had gone up in the area, after dropping Horatio at the hospital, and Johan where he needed to be for his DJ gig.

"Hey guys, what's up with the alert we got?" Marcus asked as he set his laptop's bag down.

"I think Josh would be the one better suited to explain it to you." Sitara answered as she took a seat beside Manny.

"Yo, where's Jordi and T-Bone?" Wrench asked as he came, back with a monster for Manny and one for himself, his eyes turned into question marks.

"Said they had business to attend to; didn't ask" Sitara replied, as she stood up to go get Josh.

After a few minutes Sitara, and Josh walked in; Josh looked like he had just seen Blackbeard's ghost, and that meant that whatever he was about to tell them wasn't exactly good news.

"Josh, my boy what's up?" Marcus said as he walked towards Josh and Sitara, with Wrench following close behind.

"Marcus, I-I think that yo-you s-should si- sit down to he- hear this" Josh said, as he tried to fight down the uneasiness.

However Marcus, noticed his teammates uneasiness, and did as he was asked.  

"Alright man, we are all ears; tell us what we need to know" Marcus said as he leaned back in his seat.

Josh took a deep breath, and steeled himself for Marcus' reaction; he knew he could have seen something fishy was going on when their follower count skyrocketed.

"Over 50 percent of our followers, are fake; created with the iNvite software; as well as the bots, that protect us form cyber attacks" Josh said, as he waited for Marcus reply.

Marcus didn't even know when, or how to process the information he had just heard; Wrench could be seen in a similar fashion.

Manny just shook his head, and then said.

"It's Dusan, he wanted us to create  a smoke curtain to cover up his bullshit; He wants DedSec painted as the bad guys here, so people embrace Blume and their shit, and after we have served their interest; they will toss us aside, with no position to fight their injustice".

Of all the things; they had been expecting almost anything, but they were totally unprepared for what they had just found out; which in Wrench's favorite words was; Fucking Bullshit.

"We gotta do something about this" Wrench said as his eyes were just circles; probably translating to shock.

 "I think I have a plan kiddos; but y'all ain't gonna like it" T-Bone said as he walked in the hideout.

 _ **If that has happened already, we'll need all the support we can possibly get;**_ Manny thought as he pulled out his phone to call Jay.

 

* * *

 

1:30 AM, Highland Hospital, Oakland, Eastern Bay Area, CA

"So that what happened" Evie said as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

 _ **Emmanuel Guitierrez, you're so dead when I see you again,**_ a little voice on her head.

"Are my kids okay?" Arbaaz asked as he ran a hand through his hair; and Evie couldn't help but to notice, that Jayadeep did the same exact thing whenever he was stressed.

"Jay, is fine; and Ranjiv's wounds werent life threatening"  Evie replied.

As soon as the last word had left her mouth, Arbaaz received a phone call and excused himself; to take it.

Evie was feeling slightly tempted to curse Manny, in the languages she was fluent on, over text messages for indirectly making her handle this, but she refrained herself from doing so.

"I'm sorry, I had to take that; it was my wife" Arbaaz said,and after taking a deep breath he added, "I know that Jay went to help Manny, and he asked you to do this for him, but I just want you to know that I care about him, and there isn't one day in which I haven't regretted not standing up for him."

Evie had figured that much, she knew that even though Jayadeep seemed to not care what happened to his Dad, deep down he would always care, no matter what.

But still she couldn't figure out, why he was telling her this.

"I'm aware." Evie replied; hoping that her facial expressions wouldn't betray the fact that she'd learned something she shouldn't have about Jayadeep's life on California. but soon added "But why are you telling me, all this personal stuff" 

Arbaaz chuckled and shook his head, sometimes Evie was too much like Ethan.

"Of course you would, ask that. However I'm not blind, I've seen how much you care about my son" Arbaaz asked, with a tiny smirk on his face.

 _ **KILL ME NOW!!!**_ , a little voice said on Evie's head; as she tried to resist the urge to deny this.

However a part of her told her, that it didn't matter how much she tried to deny it or fight it, _ **what she felt for Jay was**_ _ **real.**_

Arbaaz smiled, he had always been aware of that. But upon seeing Evie's turmoil over having her feeling calles out on; he decided it was the right time to drop a hint.

"You know at some point, you'll have to let go of your Father's maxims, particularly of Not lettting feelings, interfere with the mission. That doesn't helps, it only eats you up." Arbaaz said, and then added "He was a different man you know, when your Mom was around"

Evie didn't even know how to reply to it, and all a little too soon; a nurse called Arbaaz, to go see his son.

 

* * *

 

1:40 PM, DedSec HQ (Hackerspace), San Francisco, CA

 

 _ **Yeah, that it's a brilliant idea.**_ Marcus thought as soon as T-Bone suggested using a Galilei experimental rocket to create some sort of satellite connection to destroy Blume.

"Even if we manage to sneak in; what are the chances of a experimental rocket of not blowing up?" Sitara asked and then added, "It's called experimental for a reason". Jordi raised his hands in defeat; T-Bone just smiled and replied.

"There have been 138 successful experimental rockets launched by Galilei; I mean, if ours malfunctions; it's just bad luck" T-Bone answered.

"Out of how many? Huh?" Sitara asked spreading her arms in a display of sheer annoyance.

"Sitara, as much as I hate to disagree; Ray is right; we need this, even if they are experimental launches, then we'll chance it" Marcus explained, taking T-Bone's side of the argument.

Manny decided to intervene before things got uglier than they had to.

"Guys, let's not loose sight of the goal here; please" Manny said looking at everyone, from Josh to Jordi.

"Now we don't have any better ways of getting our hands on Blume; not if Dusan it's standing on the way, if we manage to get the upper hand in any way; we should do it." Manny said, as much as he agreed with both sides of the conflict, he knew they only had one way out.

"Okay fine, disregard all my advice against this; but when shit hits the fan, don't say I didn't warn you" Sitara replied, after that she stormed out of the Hackerspace.

"Should we go after her?" Marcus asked Manny.

"No Marcus, I think that right now you're the last person she wants to see" Manny answered, and then added "besides, I'm sure Dusan might have found a way to screw us over already" 

 

* * *

 

4:50 AM, Highland Hospital, Oakland, Eastern Bay Area, CA

 

During the drive he had taken from Berkeley, to Oakland; he had been terrified for his kids.

All the warning he had gotten was a call from Darim, who had told him that his younger son; Ranjiv was injured and in need of immediate attention, also that Jayadeep was with him.

He had to track Ranjiv's phone to find out where they were, and when he had gotten there; Jayadeep was nowhere to be found, and Evie had to explain to him what had transpired.

In truth, he was furious with Ranjiv; how could he go along with something as reckeless as what him and Johan had done!

But he was also deeply worried, the bullet had gotten him on his right arm, but besides it being extremely painful; it hadn't caused any damage. Also most of the blood loss had been stopped by Jayadeep's quick actions.

Now Arbaaz sat, his younger son's bedside; as he held Jayadeep's bloodied, Breathe Carolina bomber jacket on his hands.

"Dad...?" Ranjiv asked groggily, as he tried to adjust his eyes to the brightness of the room.

"Yeah, I'm here son" Arbaaz replied, aa he let out a breath; he wasn't aware he was holding in.

"Dad, I promise; this isn't Jay's fault" Ranjiv said, and the words hurted Arbaaz more than any wounds he'd ever sustained, during his life as an assassin.

"I know, my boy; just rest we'll talk about this later" Arbaaz replied.

With that Ranjiv fell back asleep, and his son's words play on his mind on repeat.

_**"This isn't Jay's fault"** _

He hated this divide between himself and his son; a divide he himself had caused, a divide that had almost ended his marriage, and family.

If it hadn't been for Ethan and Altair.

 

* * *

 

 5:40 PM, Silicon Valley, Santa Clara County, CA

 

Jayadeep had gone back to the Assassin's Headquarters, well... the unofficial ones; since the faction war in California raged on.

He hated the fact that Manny had called him for help, but he hated even more; that Evie was dealing with his father.

 

 That had been about 4 hours ago, and everything that the DedSec gang had been able to achieve was quite the feat.

They had everything from plans of the Galilei buildings in Silicon Valley to what the CEO's favorite show was.

Of course this had mostly been Josh, trying his damnnest to make up for his earlier mistakes, which had costed them their network and bots.

This was his mission, well... Had been, up until Darim; had pretty much invited himself to be in it.

"So J-dog, still angry at Manny?" Darim asked as they overlooked the Galilei building from a highpoint.

"Yes and no, I mean I get we need Blume out of the way for the Assassins to keep the Artifact out of Templar hands; but is it even worth it, I mean two factions of Assassins are tearing each other apart on the streets beacuse they can't decide one leader." Jayadeep answered, Darim thought about it; Jay was right, what was the point of playing keepaway with the Piece of Eden; if when it would be gievn to either faction for safekeeping, they wouldn't hesitate on using it against each other.

"I agree with you man, You're right what's the fucking point; we aren't united against a common enemy, instead were fighting each other; and a Piece of Eden is caught on the crossfire, much like us" Darim said as he scanned the building for enemies, with his eagle vision.

They were both waiting for Marcus's signal so Darim would take over keeping the comm system, alarms and other whatnot down; so Jayadeep would be Marcus's backup, just in case of shit hitting the fan.

"Jay, I know sometimes I just drive you up the wall with my nonsense; but when I'm right, I just am" Darim said, out of the blue.

Jayadeep didn't even know how to take that one, he had practically grown up with him; Darim had moved from Arizona to California when he was 5, and had been on each other's life for far more time they wanted to acknowledge. Getting each other in and out of trouble. So Sentimental Darim, was out of the fucking blue unexpected.

"I, know" Jayadeep replied, but the added "why are you deciding to be sentimental all the sudden?" 

Darim laughed and then answered.

"Because, that is my way of saying that I know you better that most people; and that I know that your undeclared feelings for Evie are eating you alive, man!" Darim answered, as he leaned back against the same railing Jayadeep was leaning on.

Jayadeep sighed, and then ran a hand through his hair.

"I mean, what the hell, I'm I supposed to say to her; you know Ethan and his maxim of not letting feelings blind you" Jayadeep said and then added on to it "Even then it's not the fear of rejection that scares me, it's lossing her friendship; over a silly crush"

It was true, he did have feelings for Evie that were much deeper that friendship; but even then that wasn't the part that bothered him, he had known her for what, a year....? Maybe less...?  But he felt he had know her for longer than just that short time. Besides he was head over heels, in love with her; but she didn't notice or simply care.

But there was something that annoyed him even more, the fact that his friends couldn't be a little more respectful or feel some empathy. Since ever that Darim had noticed his not-so-obvious-to-him-but-obvious-to-everyone-else-crush-on-Evie; he hadn't let him live it down.

Since then all the teasing and insinuations had begun, and didn't seem to end.

Part of him resented Darim for making a fool of him, but on a way he knew that he just did that hoping to help him pluck up courage, so he would ask her out.

But still that just made it worse, he had actually going to ask her out before all the endless teasing had begun; but after Darim had started down that street, he had chickened out. Embarrassing as it was to say, the son of Arbaaz Mir; the first assassin to ever find the Kooh I Noor, terrified over a girl's rejection. Not even that, in truth and just as he had told Darim, he was more afraid of losing her friendship.

Darim just shook his head at his friend's stubbornness and then answered, "You'll never know what she truly feels if you don't ask her, besides I think taht she wouldn't push you away vato; she trusts you with her life, you saved he brother"

Just after Darim had expressed his opinion, Marcus sent the signal; telling them it was time to start.

Even though he was even more confused, with the way he felt. He took his desert sniper, recited a prayer and went in.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feedback ist much appreciated, btw ccomment if you want to see a little of what Johan does and its soo famous for; in da next chapter. : )


	18. Uncover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darim, Marcus and Jay go to Galilei to try to get the upper and for their causes; and people keep dropping subtle hints at Evie about Jayadeep's -obvious crush on her-.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wzzzp my ppls, hope yall doing fine.
> 
> On the other hand, I'm dying of flu over here; and have soo much schoolwork to make up for missing soooo many days, (that's the ony downside of going to a school where everyone is smarter than most kids :? )
> 
> BTW Huge Shout out to @Dudadudix, absolutely spammed this fic; very much appreciated :)  
> Again thx for the massive support guys.  
> Enjoy!
> 
> Song: Uncover (Afterfab Remix) - Zara Larsson

 

Chapter 18: Uncover

 

5:55 AM, Silicon Valley, Santa Clara County, CA

 

Jayadeep went into the Galilei building after Marcus, there were metal and arms detectors at the entrances; and for a moment he highly doubted if Darim's code monkey skills would be able to get them past the detectors, but before they could attempt to do so, Marcus got a call.

"Listen, Josh just got some wind on the street, the Tevez gang are looking for your Kashmiri friend and his girlfriend; I suspect it isn't to congratulate him, for beating one their friends; so tell him to watch his back" Sitara said to Marcus from the other side of the line as soon as Marcus picked up.

"Well, hello to you too, Sitara; how did you guys find out about that?" Marcus asked as he signaled Jayadeep to wait.

"Street rat conversation, overheard everywhere by the LAPD agents to find drug Cartels; we just contacted our friends" Sitara responded nonchalantly, Marcus just sighed.

 ** _Of course,_** he thought, ** _she would still be mad about it._**

"Where are they?" Marcus asked, and then quickly added, "Are they looking for Horatio or anyone else?"

"Shit, shit, shit, fuck!!! Marcus, get out of there, Dusan has recovered your criminal record!??!" Sitara said as she sounded very distressed form the other end of the line. 

"What, what, how the fuck did he get my shit back; I thought it would stay gone?!!?!??!?!" Marcus asked, even though a part of his brain was yelling at him to get his skinny ass out of there and to another safer and tactically more reliable place; he was still dumbfounded by this startling discovery.

"Marcus, stop asking questions, just get your ass back to where Darim is and I'll answer them" Sitara replied to Marcus' question, in a tone that left no room for argument; knowing that he wouldn't get shit answered for him, he grumbled something under his breath and ended the call.

"What's up now?" Jayadeep asked, and Marcus rubbed the back of his neck he didnt like this; the Tevez gang was looking for Jayadeep and his friends, and could appear out of nowhere at any given time.

"Well... Right now we not looking so hot" Marcus answered, and before Jayadeep could ask anything; he added, "the Tevez gang is looking for you, also Dusan has apparently put my criminal record back online, so if I try to hack into anything, I'll be identified"

At that Jayadeep didn't  even know how to respond... He had expected things to be a little less.. complicated? 

"Um, well what the hell are we doing now?" Jayadeep asked, part of him didnt want to know the possible answer.

"Well, since I can't hack anything at the moment, you'll have to go in there and do my job and yours, I suppose two code monkeys will be needed, if Dusan has put my records back online; I'll need to help Darim, just in case he can't keep a hold on the alarms." Marcus answered, as he sent Darim a quick text, to tell them their new plan.

"Marcus, send Darim to do this; I don't think my skills on hacking are anywhere as good as yours, and we really cant afford to have any fuck ups right now; besides..." Jayadeep was interrupted by Marcus.

"Look, I saw you hack into one of the farm's main frames and get your profile erased; I've seen more experienced hackers than you or Darim, fail..." Marcus said interrupting Jayadeep, he looked like he was going to say something so before Jayadeep got a chance to do so, Marcus added, "Look, I know you don't hear this very often, but I have faith in you; so does everyone back at base, we need you man! We're a team. So trust me, we'll have your back"

Jayadeep had no clue in how to even start to answer that statement; but before he could try to, Marcus placed a hand on his shoulder and then walked away.

He was going to have to do this on his own; the only thing he could hope, was that things wouldn't go haywire on his watch.

* * *

 

6:05 AM Highland Hospital, Oakland, Eastern Bay Area, CA

 

Evie was pretty sure she was going to be convicted of murder when she saw Manny next... He had called about two hours ago saying he'd come to hold down the fort, but on the end had decided to leave her hanging.

"Im going to murder you, for all your fuck ups Manny Guitierrez!" Evie grumbled under her breath, she was having trouble staying conscious; Jayadeep's mom and his sister had come about 45 minutes ago.

In reality, she could have gone back to the HQ; to catch some z's, but that stubborn part of her made her stay, _**just in case Jay comes back**_ ; that part had said.

Of course during all the time she'd stayed on the hospital; she had time to think over what Arbaaz had told her...

For some reason, trying to figure that part out; was far more exhausting than staying up all night. 

It was true, she did care about Jayadeep, more than any friend should care for another; and part of her understood why her father had taught her and Jacob that they should always go for the kill withouthwithouths; she couldn't deny that bottling up emotions was helpful, and generaly led to less complicated situations.

She had seen what had happened to Ranjiv, because of Johan; being unable to  keep his emotions on check, he had gotten his teammate hurt; and exposed them to the Tevez gang.

But there was still something nagging her, but she just couldn't quite place it.

"Earth to, Evie!?!??!" Manny said to her as he shook his hand in front of her face, Evie grabbed by the wrist and twisted it painfully.

"Ouch, ouch, stop!" Manny whined, Evie just rolled her eyes and let him go; Manny nursed his injured wrist.

"Well, you finally decide to show up!" Evie said, her words dripped with sarcasm.

"Hey! I thought you would be glad to see me!?" Manny shot back, but Evie just rolled her eyes; however she was able to see his eyes looked red; and she was sure it wasn't lack of sleep.

"You were drinking, weren't you?" Evie asked, concern overtaking her initial anger.

In all the time she had known Manny, she'd never seen him drink as much as a beer; so this could one mean something...

"Yeah, I was, my dad; he... He.... He was shot yesterday, by someone of the Tevez gang, he was working for the "Old" Brotherhood; the doctors are saying he's not gonna make it.." Manny said, a his voice unusually calm.

"Manny, I'm sorry; I had no idea" Evie replied, _**why did she always acted on assumptions?**_

"It's okay, at least he wont be on any pain; he's in a deep coma right now" Manny stated, they same way; as if he was talking about the weather outside.Then he added "How's Horation and Raj?"

"They are fine, Horatio and Raj; they might just need a few more days to heal up; then we can go...." Evie started to say before Manny interrupted her.

"I'm not going with you guys; if my dad dies, I need to stand with the people that want to reform the brotherhood; here." Manny said, as his eyes; were taken by a determined look.

"But we need you; Darim and Jay need you; You're a part of their team!" Evie exclaimed.

"I know, so please, look after J-dog, that vato can haul himself into a lot of trouble; and I know he'll do anything for any of the people he cares about, so just make sure he doesn't get himself killed, alright?" Manny asked her, his eyes casted her a pleading look.

Evie knew that Manny didn't want to leave his team on the dust, but he also had a duty to the assassins that stood with his father, and that would stand with him.

"Alright, I promise." Evie replied, answering Manny's question.

"Thanks, I owe you one" Manny replied, and then he remembered something else, "Also, my friend Bryan; found out that Dusan is hosting a party, the DedSec guys can get two of you in there; apparently Lucy Thorne and a man named Kozlov want to draw support from him, so their research might be just lying around; so find it" 

Evie only nodded, storing all the information; so she could later talk to the "Pack"

Manny just smiled on her direction, and then started to walk away; the weight of this new responsability, weighted him down. Evie reached for his arm.

"Thank you, for everything you have done for us; Emmanuel" Evie said; Manny just nodded and then left after Evie had let go of him.

Once again, things had turned upside down for them; but if the Pack could get them into that event, then, there still was a chance.

 

* * *

 

7:30 AM, Silicon Valley, Santa Clara County, CA

 

Jayadeep Mir, had never been afraid of many things; not when he had been a little boy, much less now.

But as much as he trusted Marcus and Darim, he couldn't help the fact that his mind kept wondering to worse case scenarios.

"Come on J-Dog, it's perfectly safe; the sensors wont pick up your gun or circuit board" Marcus said to him over his earpiece.

"Easy to say for you, Gamer boy, you aren't down here carrying a gun; and you certainly don't have Kashmiri-Muslim ancestors, and sort of look like them" Jayadeep shot back at Marcus; he knew it was not fair; but this wasn't exactly easy either.

"Cut the chatter, just act normal Jay; you're a prince charming, so just impress the girl in the front desk; after you pass the scanners" Darim, replied as he went through several code windows.

Darim's firm and determined tone didn't reassure Jayadeep not even of the slightest.

Then as he walked to the scanners, he remembered something. 

It had been during their junior year at Berkeley High, and they had a big Calculus exam that day; of course neither of them had studied, due to Marcus' and Manny's help or rather lack of; so the four of them had decided to do the sensible thing: Cheating.

However cheating in Mr. Renegar's class was absolutely impossible; and the fact they had come so ridiculously close to getting ratted out by Chirag, they had been able to pull it off.

But this was no test that could be cheated on; if the sensors detected anything, they would be on neck deep shit.

It was finally his turn, and he felt the exact sam thing he'd felt that day; however he tried to tell himself he had done harder things.

Yeah, your first mission infiltrating a templar base; that turned out fan-fucking-tastic, didn't it? A dark little voice in his head replied; he just shook his head, and did as he was instructed.

"Name?" A Galilei security guarf asked him.

"Shaan Singh" Jayadeep replied, that was the name they had agreed on, for this mission.

The guard searched him up; and then nodded. 

He was in! Jayadeep sent silent thanks to whatever angel, had been looking down on their mission; very disapprovingly of course.

 "Marcus, Darim; this did not come out of my mouth, but congratulations you crazy bastards" Jayadeep said to his companions over his earpiece.

"Told ya! Now just get your game on Prince Charming, I promise not to tell Evie about this!" Marcus said, and clicked off.

"Wha.... What do you mean?!?! We're not even dating!!!" Jayadeep said over his mike, exasperated.

_**Couldn't they focus on the task at hand for once?** _

Even though he continued on; the reception desk was easy enough to spot.

He went over the little story they had crafted for his alias on his head.

He was Shaan Singh, born in Long Beach, California. His parents had been born in New Delhi; he studied at MIT; and this was intership for the summer.

After going over his "story" on his head, he thanked his old Theater teacher, Mrs. Shaw; (he had taken that class, because Marcus had dared him to)

"Hey" Jayadeep said with an easy smile.

From the "base" both Marcus and Darim, we laughing their asses off.

"Hey, how can we help you?" A young hispanic girl, of about 18 asked him.

"I'm here for my Intership, MIT" Jayadeep said casually running a hand through his hair, he noticed as the other receptionists shot him sideway glances.

The girl smiled, and she looked up their records on MIT Interships, Jayadeep felt his phone buzzing in his pocket; and turned it off, he had to keep his cover and whoever the hell was calling; could hold the fuck up, for a couple more minutes.

"Just pulled up the records, Can you tell me your name please?" the girl asked.

"Shaan Singh" Jayadeep answered, throwing her a wink.

He saw her blush, and she immediately snapped her eyes back to her computer screen.

"I swear to my Assassin Honor, you can talk to any pretty girls; without breaking a sweat, but you're plain awkward around Evie" Darim said over their earpieces, and then burst into a fit of laughing.

Annoyed with his teammate, he clicked off his comm.

"Here" the girl said, handing him over and ID card.

"Thanks" Jayadeep replied, as he put the ID badge around his neck; and then he added " Maybe I'll see you around"

He walked to where their next part of their infiltration was just sitting, heavily guarded.

As soon as he knew he was away from any suspicious looks he pulled out his phone; and dialed, the last caller.

"What's up?" Jayadeep asked the caller, as he clicked him comm back on.

"It's me Bhai" Ranjiv, answered from the other side; Jayadeep let out a breath he had no clue he'd been holding in.

"Thank God, you're alright Raj!" Jayadeep said and then added "Are you alright?" 

"Yes, bhai quit your fussing; Mom is with me and so is Jiya, I'm FINE!" Ranjiv said sounding exasperated.

Upon hearing that he decided to drop it.

"What you called me for?" Jayadeep asked as he walked down the halfway as calmly as he could.

"Just to tell you that me and Horatio pulled through fine; also Mom met your _**girlfriend..."**_ Ranjiv ended in a mysterious tone.

"She's NOT my girlfriend!" Jayadeep almost yelled at his brother over the phone; why couldn't people just leave alone about this.

"Sure... Whatever helps you sleep at night" Ranjiv replied, and he was sure his imp of a brother had his phone on speaker; so Jiya could hear everything.

"Whatever, I'm busy right now; let's talk later okay?" Jayadeep told his brother as he approached the mission site.

"Right, talk to you later Bhai" Ranjiv, said before ending the call.

_**Why did anyone had to tease him mercilessly over his tiny crush on Evie.** _

_**If it was so damn obvious for everyone why hadn't SHE, mentioned anything about it?** _

**_I did NOT just THINK THAT!!!_** Jayadeep thought expasperated, as he shook his head.

This was no time to try and figure out this stuff; the mission was top priority.

Walking casually and carefully; he made his way over to where the experimental rocket stood, unguarded.

However he knew that there would be cameras and possibly movement sensors that wouldn't trigger an alarm, but that would alert the police.

After completing his superficial scan of the area; he clicked his mike on.

"Darim, Marcus; Big fish is on sight, unguarded, but has multiple cameras and movement sensors" Jayadeep said over to his teammates.

"Right J-dog, we're killing the lights, and sensors; you'll have to loop the cameras locally" Marcus answered, and got to work straight away.

A couple of dreadful and long minutes passed by; between Jayadeep half praying, half looking out for guards.

It was a relieve when Darim clicked back on.

"It's done J-dog, now the cameras" Darim said, as he couldn't hold the excitement on his voice.

Jayadeep moved to a corner between two cameras, where due to the angle/ he was able to have a clear view of the door, but was unable to be seen.

Withouth even thinking his hand reached for his pendant, the first and last gift he'd ever received from his Dadaji (Gramdfather) ; before he'd passed away.

It had always brought him good luck and safety, so he hoped this time it would too.

He started working on looping the cameras, it was quite easy; at times like this Jayadeep often questioned if Galilei was truly asking for a DoDs attack.

"This is Sher (Lion); cameras are down, I repeat, cameras are down." Jayadeep answered to his teammates awaiting silence.

"Copy that, this is Retro; continue with the main objective" Marcus replied, and then clicked off; leaving Jayadeep to work without distractions.

Jayadeep took his circuit board from his duffle bag; and connected it to his computer.

Getting to programming straight away, going through several windows and programs; an eternity seemed to pass by...

Finally after what had seemed like hours; but had truly been 45 minutes, Jayadeep was finally done.

Know came the easy part, replacing one of the internal circuit boards in the rocket for the one he'd just programmed.

Which sounded simple, of course, Engineering wasn't his specialty; that was Darim's turf, and withouth Darim there he had only one choice.

Calling Raveen.

 _ **I really don't have the time for this! How hard can this be?**_ Jayadeep thoughy to himself as he uncrewed the plaque that covered the circuit boards.

"Okay; on second thought, this is NOT simple" Jayadeep muttered to himself.

He put down the screwdriver on the ground.

And dialed his cousin; half hoping - half praying that he would answer.

* * *

 

1:00 PM London, Westminter.

 

Jacob had a couple days of school and classes, and was currently being tutored by Jayadeep's cousin; Raveen, on Calculus.

Which was NOT one of his best subjects by a long shot, hence him failing that class.

"Jacob!" Raveen yelled at his, as he slammed his fist on the desk.

"What!" Jacob answered, as he tried to stop himself from falling with the chair.

Only to fail miserably.

Raveen only rolled his eyes as he watched Jacob; untagle himself from the chair.

"Pay attention, will you?" Raveen said to Jacob; as the other boy finally stood up.

"Well I didn't aak for you to tutor me did I?" Jacob asked, crosing his amrs over his chest.

"No, but your Father, did; since you're miserably failing Calculus" Raveen said as he rolled his eyes again.

"It's not fair, you Asians pass every single class withouth even studying; and you expect us non-blessed math people to do the same" Jacob stated as he leaned into the desk.

"That's offensive!" Raveen said, as he glared at Jacob.

"But it's true, right?" Jacob asked defiantly.

"No, it is not; that's just stereotyping, not all Asians are necessarily smart" Raveen replied as he ran a hand through his hair, and then added "Besides, your sister isn't Asian; and she passed all her classes; Manny, Connor and Johan do too" 

"That's just 'cause Greenie does he homework for her" Jacob huffed.

"Okay that's it! What do you have agaisnt my cousin!?" Raveen asked with his arms opened on annoyance.

"Nothing, in particular, oh wait..... Yes, he is jackass" Jacob replied making a show of it.

"He is not!" Raveen answered.

"That's just 'cause you're his family!" Jacob answered.

"It's not like that; know why, because he has become even more patient and kind, towards assholes like you; that what the was in highschool. " Raveen answered and then added "I don't know if you're ever been senteced to death, for doing the right thing. He was, he had a gun pointed to his head; and his own father was willing to see him die." Raveen answered.

Jacob looked shocked, and as he opened his mouth to speak Raveen cut him off.

"Now you know, he's never asked for anyone's pity; and he won't, so before you asume someone is a jackass of not; be sure to know all the damn facts!" Raveen said, giving Jacob an stern gaze.

"I didn't know that..." Jacob said in a whisper, almost afraid to disturb the air around them.

However Jacob, never for to finish his sentence; at that moment Raveen's phone went off.

 

* * *

 

 

9:35 AM Highland Hospital, Oakland, Eastern Bay Area, CA

 

Evie had decided to hang out with Ranjiv,  for a bit; after all, Horatio still was under heavy watch. 

"You don't look too well"  Ranjiv tells Evie as soon as she walks into his room. 

"Yeah;  I haven't slept all night,  how are you?"  Evie asked,  as she sat down besides his bed;  on one of the to empty chair. 

"Tired; a little sore, but okay otherwise" Ranjiv answered as the yawned. 

Reading people;  was one of those things the was so good at,  that it was ridiculous. 

Naturally;  the could see that Evie was half hoping his brother would stroll through that door. 

Upon seeing that;  the decides to graciously drop a hint. 

"Bahai called me" Ranjiv said with mild interest. 

He saw the way Evie became more alert at the mention of his brother. 

"Yeah? How's he?" Evie replied,  as she tried to look and sound as disinterested as possible. 

However her eyes betrayed her;  for they were so full of expression,  it was hard to disguise what she felt. 

"Well...  he's fine,  alive and uninjured at least; but right now he's in some major op with Marcus and Darim"  Ranjiv replied. 

However before Evie could say anything else. 

A girl Ranjiv's age;  if not,  a little younger,  walked in. 

"Hey" the girl says to Evie. 

"Hi"  Evie replies; for a moment she thinks that she must be Ranjiv's cousin or some other family member. 

That is;  until she sees her smile, and notices that her and Jayadeep have the same gorgeous smile. 

"Name is Jiya; you must be Evie?" Jiya asks Evie as she takes a seat besides her brother;  in the opposite side of the bed. 

"Um... Yeah"  Evie replies;  she hates the fact that she sounds so distrusting. 

But if Jiya hears the distrust and concussion on her voice;  she doesn't shows it. 

"It's nice to finally meet you; Jay sure talks a lot about you" Jiya said to Evie as she reached for her phone; which was on the night table besides her brother's bed. 

 _ **Jay talks about me?,**_ Evie thought before and little voice of reason made her see otherwise;  _ **Nope, not like that; the probably just talks about you as a friend.**_

 

Upon not receiving an answer from Evie she decided to drop a hint to kick things into high gear. 

"You know; if I have to sit through one more Skype, of him telling us how amazing you are; I swear I'll disown him as soon as I turn 18"  Jiya said, ending her sentence with a chuckle. 

Evie couldn't decide if she should feel stricken by surprise or completely embarrassed by this. 

Ranjiv just shot his sister a murderous glare;  before she spoke to his sister in Hindi. 

"Hamen yah nahin kahana hai!!" Ranjiv said to his sister in what the thought was the sterniest voice the could muster up. 

"Aao, ham donon jaanate hain ki ve ek doosare ke lie ekadam sahee hain!" Jiya answered, not before throwing her brother and nasty glare. 

Feeling completely out of place, and having -no beef in the argument- on her opinion;  she slipped out. 

 

* * *

 

 

1: 30 PM, Silicon Valley, Santa Clara County, CA

 

After almost 5 hours of work,  close calls,  comm malfunctions and of reverse engineering to install a programmed ciruit board.

Jayadeep finally walked out with a sore neck and arms, more sore that if he'd climbed a 100 story building. 

However something told him that walking out wouldn't be so easy. 

And the was proven right,  when the young hispanic girl from the front desk; came walking towards him. 

"Hey" the nameless girl said to him. 

Jayadeep's eyes went to her nametag to find her name, so the wouldn't pass as much of an asshole. 

"Hey, Julia"  Jayadeep said back to her,  as the threw an smile on her general direction. 

His comm was dead so the couldn't ask Darim to get him out of here. 

"Where are you going?" Julia asked him. 

"To the hospital; my brother is there, got shot by the Tevez gang when the was biking with his friend in Oakland" Jayadeep answered as the subtly looked around for ways to get out. 

"Oh, I'm really sorry" Julia answered as she shot him an smile. 

Suddenly his comm crackled back to life and Jayadeep and the thanked every angel that might have been watching;  dissaprovingly or not,  the truly didn't care. 

"Okay J-dog; I'm going in, I hope she remembers me; freshman year in Arizona" Darim said and then clicked his comm off. 

Jayadeep talked to Julia for a couple more minutes, before Darim waltzed in. 

"Julia!" Darim called from the other side of lobby. 

Julia stopped her conversation with Jayadeep to acknowledge who was calling her name. 

"Oh my god!  Darim!" Julia said as she took off to hug Marcus. 

As Julia hugged Darim; Jayadeep shot his wingman and thumbs up. 

"Crap, I gotta go; I'll see you later Julia"  Jayadeep said as walked out. 

"See you later, Shaan;  and I hope your brother gets better" Julia replied as the was leaving. 

With that Jayadeep left the Galilei building hoping that this would be a successful mission at the end of the day;  and that it would bring them closer to the Piece of Eden. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so the switching language without warning was an idea; my good friend Dev Singh gave me when he said; that he always found himself annoyed when I suddenly switched to Spanish in the middle of the conversation to yell at brother to stop being stupid :D
> 
> Also; native kashmiri people speak Kashimiri of Koshur; and well since there is no google translator for that, I just assumed and went with easiest alternative (pure laziness; I coulda asked Niraj or Keenan but it turned out to be too much work ;D)


	19. Heavy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Major feels, the Mir siblings are absolute goals, Evie struggles to accept her crush on Jay, Rodrigo Gutierrez is the absolute goat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that chapter 18 took soooo ridiculously long to update :D
> 
> Also not very sure why AO3 erased Guardians; but I could do a re-post/re-write if you guys wanted me to. 
> 
> Song: Heavy - LINKIN PARK ft. Kiiara

 

Chapter 19:  Heavy

 

1: 30 PM, Silicon Valley, Santa Clara County, CA

 

Evie was sitting outside Ranjiv's room; she still had no clue over what Jayadeep's siblings had been arguing about; but she hoped it wasn't about her. 

However she was pulled out of her musings by Jiya sitting beside her. 

"I'm sorry for embarrassing you; I truly didn't mean to" Jiya said to Evie; as she scouted the hall for her brother for father. 

"It's okay, I suppose; I should be used to it, Darim, and Company are always teasing me and Jay mercilessly about it; it's not even true"  Evie said, ending her response with a chuckle; but she wasn't able to mask the tiny bit of sadness,  she felt at how truthful it was. 

Jiya could tell that even though Evie hid her emotions well; it wasn't enough to keep her from figuring it out. 

"But you like; my brother don't you?" Jiya asked Evie as she sat back and little. 

Evie just looked up and gave her a horrified look. 

"What gave you THAT IDEA!" Evie asked Jiya with somewhere between a whisper and a scream. 

Jiya couldn't help but to laugh; even though she did feel a little bad. 

"Okay; I get it, you think you don't feel anything for Jay; but I can read him and Raj, like a book, so I know how my brother feels" Jiya answered as she locked eyes with Evie. 

Evie didn't say aything;  what could she say? In truth;  she has no idea what she even felt for Jayadeep. 

Upon seeing the internal turmoil Evie was on through her eyes, Jiya decided to speak. 

"Look my brother; is an absolute chicken, he might look brave and bold to others; but when it comes down to things like this, he'd rather die than to tell you how the feels; he inherited that from our father,  so don't ever mention that to him; unless you're deliberately looking for him to give you a cold shoulder"  Jiya said to Evie; before she got up and walked to end of the hall where her dad has been standing for the last 5 minutes. 

Once again Evie was left alone with her thoughts; and more information that she was sure she didn't wanted to deal with at the moment. 

 

* * *

 

 

2:00 PM, DedSec HQ (Hackerspace), San Francisco, CA

 

Marcus lounged lazily on the base's couch, as the waited for the Galilei experimental rocket to take for space. 

The one the'd hijacked; of course Manny found it funny that who'd done that had been Jayadeep, giving his Kashmiri-Muslim ancestry. 

But the had decided to not mention any 9/11 jokes that had come to mind; because of the respect the felt towards Jayadeep, also he was African American; so he was on no place to say such things. 

On the other side Jayadeep kept pacing, as Josh messed with his drone and Wrench played Resident Evil. 

T-Bone, Jodi and Sitara returned; so everyone gathered around Josh's computer to watch the monumental launch;  but not Jayadeep,  he'd been trying to get a hold of Manny or Darim. 

But so far had only come up empty-handed. 

"Jay, aren't you going to join us?" Sitara asked softly, as she could clearly tell there was something going on. 

"Uh? Oh I'm sorry; I was just trying to get a hold of Manny" Jayadeep answered, but quickly added "You guys don't have an idea of where the might be?" 

Upon saying those words and look passed between Marcus, Sitara and Josh. 

"You might want to sit down to hear this news, son" T-Bone said with a hint of sadnesses on his voice. 

Jayadeep did as he has been asked. 

"So what's going on? Talk to me guys" Jayadeep said after the had taken a seat,  but by the looks of discomfort, that passed between his friends; he felt like he didn't want to know. 

"Look, J-Dog; Manny he... Um well he..."  Marcus started and stopped and couple more times before Jayadeep snapped at him. 

"Cut the bullshit; Marc tell me what's going on" Jayadeep asked as the tried to keep his mind from wandering to worse case scenarios. 

Marcus shot pleading looks for help at his friends; Sitara and Josh shrugged, T-Bone and Jodi rose their hands in a motion that said this wasn't their business;  but Wrench stepped up, placing a hand over Marcus' shoulder. 

"Look, Dog;  what he means is that Manny's dad is in pretty bad shape right now; and he is going AWOL on the mission, because the needs to take over for his dad; for now, but it might become permanent" Wrench said, his electronic voice delivering the news withouth an ounce of sugarcoating. 

In a way Jayadeep had never liked people who always shot him pitying looks and fake concern; he'd always preferred to hang out with Marcus & Co; in other words, people who never said anything withouth meaning it. 

But even right now, he still took this; to people who would tell him the same thing after hours of running in circles. 

After letting out and breath he didn't know he'd been holding in;  the stood up. 

"Thanks for telling me" Jayadeep said to Wrench, and then added "you guys enjoy the launch, and don't worry about me;  I'm going to visit Manny's dad and Johan,  if I can catch him" 

After saying that Jayadeep left the DedSec gang,  somewhere between confused and worried. 

* * *

 

 

3: 00 PM,  Gutierrez's residence, Berkeley,  CA. 

 

Johan was anything; but the only things he wasn't were blind and unfeeling. 

Even though he still had to stand in stage and play music to his fans, go to school and deal with it's drama; he just couldn't stand the thought of his father dying; and him not being able to be there for him. 

All this had just happened after,  the fought with Manny. 

It had been Ritesh who had told him, his father had been injured by members of the Tevez gang. 

Worse thing the hadn't been allowed to see his mother of father;  under the "We can't get you in danger, since you're a public figure - Protocol" 

He hated feeling powerless; but all he could do, was wait. 

 

* * *

 

 3: 10 PM, The Darkness, Berkeley,  CA. 

 

Jayadeep had driven about an hour; as safely and even headedly as the could.

Considering the facts that the Templars were ahead, DedSec had their wings clipped at the moment, his brother had been shot, Manny's dad was dying and his family and Evie were in danger of the Tevez gang. 

It had been just a couple of minutes since he'd arrived; but he felt apprehensive at the thought of going into the very same place,  where he'd been waiting and almost executed 6 years prior. 

The Darkness; that is what every Assassin in California called this place. 

After taking a deep breath to steel his nerves and to help him focus on his personal mission; then went in. 

The place looked like it always had, dark hallways underground; Illuminated by florescent lights every few meters. 

Soon the was in the actually entrance of the place;  not the old storage building that was it's cover. 

Two Assassins guarded the entrance; they were rumored to be blind,  but could kill anyone in the blink of an eye. 

"Name?" One of the nameless Assassins asked him. 

"Mir. Jayadeep" He answered, he knew that if the entrance wasn't so shrouded in darkness,  the might have actually seen the surprise on the eyes of the two guardians. 

"So, You've come back to actually get Hamid to finish you off this time? Huh?" Another assassin,  who has just materialized out of the shadows; taunted him. 

Jayadeep tried to stop something cold from sliding down his spine; anger, resentment. 

"That is entirely my business; Assef." Jayadeep shot back coldly. 

He knew Assef was smiling like a hungry wolf in the darkness. 

But Assed could wait, he needed to see Rodrigo Gutierrez;  at least one last time, to thank him; for doing everything his own father never did. 

"Well, can't really trust someone like _**you**_ , after all facts are considered" Assef answered; he'd heard rumors of Jayadeep coming back. 

He has always hated him; the perfect assassin, always better than him; and the was aware his own father wished that Jayadeep woulda been his son, instead of him. 

But his moment, when the was powerful; and Jayadeep was powerless, he'd waited for this moment for 6 long years. 

"Just let me through" Jayadeep commanded. 

"I'm afraid I can't; you see only tru...." 

"Let him pass or feel my anger!" A new voice spoke out form the darkness; cutting Assef mid-sentence. 

In that moment, Jayadeep couldn't feel any more luckier and happier;  that voice belonged to the one and only Chirag Ahuja. 

After that Jayadeep heard a mumble as they opened the entrance, and the just stood there. 

He wondered, had the made the right choice? 

But was soon pulled out of his thinking; when the felt a hand on his shoulder. 

Thinking it was Assef, Jayadeep joint locked the offending hand. 

"Oww, owww stop it!" A familiar voice cried. 

Jayadeep let go off the hand,  and turned around; only to find Chirag circling his wrist, to check if any real damage had been done. 

"Sorry, Dog;  I thought it was Assef" Jayadeep answered,  as the rubbed and hand on the back of his neck. "

Nay,  no worries; Assef woulda punched you though" Chirag replied with an smile on his face. 

"Still, point stands"  Jayadeep said to Chirag with a lopsided smile. 

"Rumors say; you took the blame of intelligence sharing to save the girl you're crushing on so hard, hacked into a farm's frame to erase your profile, beaten the shit out of a Tevez, and last but not least;  you came back, to the Darkness." Chirag stated, ending in a mysterious and hushed tone. 

"Who told you all that?" Jayadeep asked, puzzled over the fact that new -and specially gossip-  traveled oceans faster than light. 

"Amir, of course your sister wasn't that far behind; she told Maisie, who told me" Chirag said with a tiny smirk. 

"Afghans tend to exaggerate, a lot." Jayadeep answered,  shoving his hands on his pockets as they walked. 

"But it's true; is it not?" Chirag asked, looking at Jayadeep for any sings of denial. 

Jayadeep smirked in response;  and that was all the confirmation Chirag needed. 

"So what are you doing here; I mean for real" Chirag asked him after they had walked silently for a while. 

"Manny's dad, I know he is in bad shape; I just want to see him and thank him for every thing he's done for me, even the things that were my father's responsibilities" Jayadeep answered, as the kept his eyes forward. Chirag just sighed. 

This was something he knew that Jayadeep would always resent his father for; and the couldn't agree more with Jayadeep. 

But at the same time, Arbaaz had trained him as well; and the had seen how much it had hurt Arbaaz to see his son leave. 

Also there was something else Jayadeep wasn't aware of; that being, his father had almost died last year; after he had been shot. 

"I got ya, Mr. Gutierrez it's on room 21; want me to come with you?" Chirag asked shortly after relying the information to him. 

"I'd appreciate it, Could you stand guard; so Assef doesn't gives me a hard time, please?" Jayadeep said, with an smile. 

The 2 boys walked quietly to room 21 in the intensive care part of the complex; Chirag stood guard, as he has promised;  Jayadeep just stood there for a moment,  looking at the door knob. 

It was time. 

 

* * *

 

 

11: 10 PM, Westminster, London, UK. 

Jacob woke up to the sound of his phone's ringtone. 

He sat up in bed, and rubbed his eyes groggily; he has been staying in London; instead of leaving for Wales; over his holidays to help his DedSec fellows out;  and well...  As hard as it was to admit,  for his dad. 

"What!? I hope you have a good reason for waking me up; whoever you are" Jacob growled at the caller. 

"It's me Jake, Evie" Evie answered from the other side on the line. 

"Evie! Are you guys okay? Did Greenie do anything to you or with you?" Jacob asked his sister, and didn't even realized what he'd said until his sister shrieked. 

"JACOB FRYE!! THERE'S NOTHING BETWEEN ME AND JAYADEEP!!!!!" Evie shrieked from the other side. 

"Hey chill!? I was just asking, jeez" Jacob answered as the rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. 

"Well, then don't ask stupid questions!" Evie retorted. 

Jacob just sighed, Evie really needed to get her eyesight checked; didn't she see the way Greenie looked at her?

"Well, I promise not to ask dumb questions; what did you called for?" Jacob said to his sister. 

"Darim told me, Dad had been injured" Evie replied, and after a few seconds she adedd, "How is he?" 

"He's fine; I'm sorry for not telling you; I've....  been busy" Jacob answered, as the tried to keep his voice from trembling because of the lie. 

"Busy? Jacob, what have you been doing? Where are you?" Evie asked softly. 

"I'm in the safehouse" Jacob responded; as the yawned. 

"Jacob, Where in London?" Evie asked almost exasperated. 

"Oh shit, sorry; Westminster" Jacob answered as the got up and walked over to his desk. 

"Why?" Evie asked, even though she felt exasperated with Jacob; she was deeply concerned as well. 

"Dad's here; and since we got a 4 week break, I'm taking down some of Starrick's cronies" Jacob answered as he set up a Skype call with Johan. 

"You haven't bankrupted England yet? Have you?" Evie asked him; at this precise moment she didn't know if she should feel more concerned for her brother or what would happen to the UK. 

"Um... funny story, it did happen" 

"YOU WHAT?!?!!?" Evie half screamed at him, cutting off Jacob.

"Okay, jeez calm down; Lucas and Freddy helped me fix it, so no real damage done." Jacob answered, feeling a little sullen over the fact that his sister didn't trust him to handle things. 

"Nothing else is been destroyed, right?" Evie asked yet again, though this time she wasn't sure if she wanted to know the answer. 

"Yes, mother" Jacob answered with a mock tone. 

"Ughh Jacob, I'm dead serious! Be careful,  to much haste is too little speed"  Evie said to her brother with as much annoyance and sterness as she could muster up. 

"Hey, don't you quote Father at me!" Jacob responded, but it was only a halfhearted attempt; the was looking for the next shipment of parts to Starrick's factories. 

"It's not Father; it's Plato! And I'm serious think things through before you do anything." Evie advised her brother. 

"Well, if I do that I'll turn into you" Jacob answered with a chuckle; but upon hearing the deathly silence from his sister's side, the added "and yes, I'll TRY and be careful" 

"You're still a twat; and thank you for at least TRYING" Evie answered. 

"Well night dear sister" Jacob said to his sister as the got up from his chair and looked for his equipment. 

"Its 3:30 in the afternoon, Jacob" Evie answered, with a wisp of mischief on her voice. 

Jacob only rolled his eyes and replied. 

"Whatever" 

And with that he hung up. 

* * *

 

3: 30 PM, The Darkness, Berkeley,  CA. 

 

Jayadeep had been waiting for Manny's dad to wake up; as far as the knew, the poor man was duped in painkillers. 

He has thinking about what Assef had told him,   _ **"Did you come back, So Hamid can finish the job?"**_

It was hard for him to remember what had happened that day; mostly because the wanted to forget, but sometimes deeply buried past can come back and bite you in the ass. 

"Jay?" Rodrigo asked groggily; he'd just woken up from the haze of the painkillers. 

"Yeah, it's me" Jayadeep answered as the turned to look at the man lying down on the bed. 

"What are you doing here?" Rodrigo asked as the sat up to be in the same eye level as the boy. 

"Visiting you, obviously" Jayadeep answered with an smile. 

"No, mijo; I meant here in the Darkness, I thought you hated this place" Rodrigo replied. 

"Honestly, I wouldn't be here; if you weren't injured" Jayadeep answered, running a hand through his hair;  his trademark gesture for whenever the felt confussed. 

"Mijo, you didn't have to come here just for me; I've hardly done anything important in your life" Rodrigo replied as his chocolate brown eyes scanned him. 

"That's not true; if You, Altair and Ethan hadn't stepped up to save me, I wouldn't have lived to be 23;  and mom woulda left my father" Jayadeep replied as the looked over at his old mentor. 

He looked like the had 6 years ago; just that know he looked more tired, and just then; he understood Manny's fear. 

"Nay, mijo; Your father, the asked me to do something, anything; to save you" Rodrigo answered.

Jayadeep just snorted, _**his father?,**_ Not a fucking chance. 

Rodrigo sighed and then reached for Jayadeep's hand. 

"Look mijo; I know that you abhor your dad for not standing up to defend you, but if my time is about to come; I'll have you know, the night before you were set to be executed, Arbaaz asked me what were the chances of survival for you if the interrupted the execution" Rodrigo said, and after catching his breath; he soldiered on "I told him;  You do that and your son will die, they will not let him or you escape alive." 

"But..." 

Rodrigo made a sign with his hand; and Jayadeep stopped talking. 

"That's when I told your father to not do or tell you anything; so me and Ethan, decided that we would stop the execution; and that we would suggest a temporal banishment, until you" proved to be fit to be a leader " Rodrigo ended his sentence, and looked at Jayadeep. 

He knew this boy; and how the had wanted to prove that the was a great assassin, just like his father; so much that it had only set him up for failure in the first place. 

The also knew that Arbaaz was the one to blame for that. 

"Do you know why I didn't come back after I "proved myself"? Jayadeep asked Rodrigo. 

"No, but do tell mijo" Rodrigo answered, even though and part of his brain told him what the possible answer would be. 

"Because, Ethan was right; I'm always going to bend things as far as they go, to right a wrong" Jayadeep answered, but Rodrigo didn't interrupt;  the just waited, "I didn't come back, beacuse, I knew that I would always be condemned and looked down upon by other assassins because even though I did the right choice; I exposed the brotherhood" 

Rodrigo nodded, he understood; this boy had been made this way. 

And he'd told Arbaaz countless times: "Children aren't coloring books for anyone to fill with their favorite colors" 

However their time was cut short when the medic came back to give Rodrigo another does of medicine; and Jayadeep was forced to leave. 

But before the left,  Rodrigo managed to say something else to Jayadeep. 

"Don't be too hard on your Dad, no one it's prefect" 

 

* * *

 

4: 00 PM, Highland Hospital, Oakland, Eastern Bay Area, CA

 

Ranjiv hadn't bee more bored out his mind than the was at the moment. 

He'd finished all his Calculus, Biology and AP European history homework. 

He was technically grounded, mostly because of his mom; sure she was no ignorant bystander, but ever since she'd experienced having one of her children in the wrong side of a loaded gun. 

She'd become more protective of Jiya and him; and at time like this it was just inconvenient. 

For God's sake the was almost 18; but here he was lying down in a hospital bed, grounded. 

Jiya entered his room; and Ranjiv wanted to roll his eyes and tell her to go away, but at least with her here; the wouldn't turn into a die of boredoom. 

"I thought I'd stay here, since you're gorunded; and all that" Jiya said to her brother, as she took a seat on the bed. 

"You shouldn't have put Evie on the spot" Ranjiv said to his sister. 

"Okay, don't tell that know you follow our brother's every word" Jiya told her brother with a playful smile. 

"I don't, but..." 

"See, then you're in no position to shame me; besides you can't deny the fact that you're tired of hearing our brother pining for a girl. Jiya said cutting off her brother. 

"But, I mean; you pretty much said to her just fuck him already; so I don't have to hear his constant pining for you" Ranjiv said, and Jiya couldn't say anything as she tried to process the fact her brother has just told her such thing 

"There are much subtler ways of going about it; besides, what's the expression Joao uses when someone can't see the most obvious of things that are in front of them?" Ranjiv said as the tried to think of the word. 

"Tapada?" Jiya supplied. 

"Yes, exactly that; I'm also tired of Jayadeep telling us the exact same ting every fucking time, but he's gotta figure out things for himself; I guess" Ranjiv answered; as the stretched. 

"A little shove every now and then doesn't hurts" Jiya mumbled, and hoped her brother wouldn't catch on to it. 

"That wasn't a 'little shove';  and wasn't subtle either" Ranjiv answered. 

Jiya just shrugged, she knew that part of the reason why she has put Evie 'on the spot's was because after all her brother has been through the deserved some hapiness. 

"Raj! Jiya!" Jayadeep called out to his younger siblings the moment the crossed his brother's room threshold. 

"Jay!" Both Ranjiv and Jiya said in unison; and Jiya ran up to her brother, and hugged him. 

"Chotee bahan; is great to see you" Jayadeep said to his sister as the hugged her back. 

After prying himself loose out of his sister's grip the went to hug his brother. 

"Bahai! I thought you would be staying with the guys for the launch?" Ranjiv asked his brother once he'd let go of him. 

"Nay; I decided to come here and check on you kids; where's mom?" Jayadeep asked both of his sibilings. 

"She must be in the waiting room, possibly with Dad" Jiya answered; and of course she didn't mention anything about Evie on purpose. 

"Where's Evie? I thought she'd be here?" Jayadeep asked; Ranjiv only raised his hands and Jiya had to shallow down her laughter; her brother was so predictable sometimes. 

"She went to the safe house; in San Fran" Jiya answered, she'd asked Evie before she left. 

Jayadeep didn't say anything but it was almost impossible for him to conceal any thing from her; and what she saw on his face was absolute disappointment. 

"Where were you?" Ranjiv asked, changing the topic of the conversation; as the sat up on the bed. 

Jayadeep sat besides his brother; and Jiya did the same on the other side. 

"I went to visit Mr. Gutierrez; the hacking and infiltration took a lot of time" Jayadeep answered.

"Where's your phone?" Jayadeep aksed Ranjiv, Ranjiv only sighed; and Jiya answered for him. 

"He's grounded; can you believe that!" 

After hearing such thing both Jayadeep and Jiya burst out laughing at the expense of their poor brother. 

"You guys are jerks!" Ranjiv said to his siblings with as much sterness as the could muster up; as trying to hold laughter in over his silly situation became impossible. 

The Mir siblings laughed for a while before; they had calmed down enough to keep a conversation. 

"Jay?" Jiya asked her brother. 

"Yeah?" He answered. 

"How long are you staying?" She asked him again. 

"To be honest; I have no idea, as long as it takes to secure the artifact" Jayadeep answered, even though a part of him yearned to be able to answer differently. 

"Talking about artifacts; I have news!" Ranjov answered; nad both of his siblings turned to look at him for the answer. 

"What you got?" Jayadeep asked. 

"Okay promise not to get mad? Please I haven't told mom or dad; Jiya is the only one that knows" Ranjiv asked while shooting his sister and look. 

"Yeah, sure" Jayadeep said fist bumping his brother. 

"Okay so last summer, I got a job right?" Ranjiv said. 

"Far as I know, yeah" Jayadeep answered; even though the only did it to annoy his brother, he hated having people answering rethorical questions. 

"Okay, so. My job was supposedly helping in the local marine wildlife sattoon by the beach, but they had a guy who worked in the Entertainment Section of Abstergo; the Templars clocked and he died." Ranjiv stopped momentarily; just to see if his brother was in the verge of having a heart attack. 

Upon seeing results were good, he resumed. 

"So I volunteered to be their new runner..." 

"Hold on; how have the Templars not clocked you yet?" Jayadeep asked his brother, interrupting his narrative. 

"Used a fake name; Raheem Das; now where was I?" Ranjiv told his brother, before the asked where he had stopped. 

"You became their new runner" Jiya answered. 

"Yeah, right. So a couple days after and with Johan's and Chi's help I got a fake-but-the-best-fake-ever-seen California ID. After a couple days I started working on the vacant position; but they made the manager's right hand man,  because of my coding skills. After a while, I heard that Starrick & Co.  Were planning on expanding to the US, so I started to cut it and little closer for more info. Haven't got caught, before you traveled here; Lucy Thorne and a Russian guy -Kozlov- I think, arrived and staterted using things from the deparment of tech, and always left their notes and research out; so ths is the plan; there will be a party tomorrow, about Starrick & Co. Becoming business partners and what not, I can take to guests with me; so while I hold down the fort and talk to my boss, to of us will take their research" Ranjiv, ended and then took a gulp of air; before asking "So what do you think?" 

Jayadeep considered his options for a moment; this would certainly be a gamble, but they needed leads. 

On the other hand things could go haywire; getting people hurt and themselves captured. 

50-50 chance, the odds were better than in some missions he'd been sent to; besides this was a necessary risk. 

"Alright, I'm in; So who's going with you?" Jayadeep voiced his approval before asking. 

"Well, we need a code monkey; so you" Ranjiv said aloud.

"We need someone stealthy, though" Jiya reminded. 

Ranjiv and Jiya pretended to think about someone who fitted such description, but the already knew who would be going. 

"So?" Jayadeep asked, he was curious. 

"Evie" Ranjiv answered and watched as his brother shot him a look of confussion. 

 

* * *

 

 

4: 45 PM, Unknown Location,  CA. 

 

"Its true, he's here; the was ta the Darkness today" Someone said over to another individual over in the phone. 

The other voice crackled with a bit of static and sounded distorted. 

"Good. But first kill Thorne" The Receiver ordered over the phone. 

"As you wish" The caller responded; and then hunged up. 

Things would become hellfire soon. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I dunno. 
> 
> Hope you guys like it; btw if you she ever read Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini; you might have caught the fact that I threw in the names of the main protagonist and antagonist. 
> 
> Also who do think I the unknown person in the unknown location... 
> 
> Be ready!  
> Cuz next chapter is going to be more feel rigged than the last. 
> 
> As always, everything goes to the same inbox 
> 
> :)


	20. Back To Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Assassins infiltrate the Templars party without much trouble; Callum appears, awkwardness ensurs, and killer is on the loose.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you soooo freaking much @Dudadix for spamming mi inbox with kind words and praising; and thank you to everyone who's reading this. 
> 
> Imma be a basic writer and say: this fic wouldn't even exist with YOU lovely readers, now I'm a 100% sure I have the best audience; and I just wanna thank you for dat guys, thank u so much  
> (^﹏^) 
> 
> We have almost reached 500 hits; let's keep going strong 
> 
> Song: Back To Me - KSHMR & Crossnaders ft. Micky Blue.

 

Chapter 20:  Back To Me

 

7: 30 AM, Assassin Safehouse, San Francisco, CA

 

Darim woke up more sore than he'd ever been; it felt like he'd climbed a 100 story building and then fallen to the ground. 

"I'm never going drinking with Wrench or anyone else from DedSec; EVER AGAIN!!!" Darim said outloud to the empty room. 

Yep, going drinking with Marcus, Wrench and T-Bone was now in the number one spot of the most stupid things he'd ever done. 

Worse scenario, he had promised Manny to help him deal with a Tevez problem in Oakland. 

Groaning, and cursing Marcus and company for his current state; he finally got up. 

It was then that the noticed he'd about 6 missed calls from Jayadeep. So the dialed back. 

"Dog, what's up?" Jayadeep said as soon as the picked up. 

"Not much, but remind me to never go drinking with Marcus ever again" Darim said from the other side, as the sat down on his bed. 

"I'll try" Jayadeep answered with a light chuckle. 

"So what did you need me for?" Darim asked as he yawned and stretched. 

"It's kind of a long story; but I'll make it short, Raj and Jiya are the ultimate snakes; there's an infiltration opportunity to steal Thorne's research tonight at 8: 30 PM; and those two are making me go with Evie." Jayadeep announced, sounding every bit mortified. 

Darim couldn't help it; he just bursted out laughing, this was just too good; who woulda known that Raj had the nerve to screw with his older brother in such way. 

After Darim had calmed down enough to try and form coherent sentences, he said.

"My homeboy; just ask her out already, this awkward dancing around the issue thing you to have it's beyond the point of being annoying" 

"You're oversimplifying stuff; like always, it's not that easy!" Jayadeep countered. 

"And you're overcomplicating stuff; look just ask her out, I get that you're oblivious to the way she looks and acts around you; but at this point even Johan is tired of this, and the doesn't even hangs with us that often" Darim said to his friend. 

"What if she says no? What I'm I supposed to do then?" Jayadeep asked, and Darim couldn't help it; but to roll his eyes. 

He was always cool when it came to any girls; but all his bravado and confidence disappeared the moment Evie was around. 

"Trust me, she won't" Darim said as ruffled trough his bag for anything that would lessen his headache. 

"Sorry, you have to hear this stuff man; it's just I don't want to lose her friendship over a silly crush; that's all" Jayadeep said to Darim. 

At this point Darim's headache had gone from just that - a bothersome headache -  to a full blown out headache; and the wanted nothing more than to smack Jayadeep upside the head. 

Honestly; it was just too damn early in the morning for this bullshit. 

"Look dog, I'm not telling you ask her or don't ask her; this is your choice now, but don't come crying to me when she goes out with another guy that was actually smart." Darim said as he finally found some Tylenol tablets. 

Darim took to of the tablets and washed them down with some water the scooped up on the bathroom. 

"Look dog; I get it, I really do; but let's be honest, you went AWOL to save her from possible pain of death or banishment; she wouldn't push you away just beacuse of that; but I'm telling you, make up your mind before it is too late." Darim said to Jayadeep as the placed things back to where they belonged on his room. 

"Thanks, I'll try" Jayadeep answered. 

"Hey no problem dog; anyhow, worse comes to worse; you can always go drinking with Marcus" Darim answered. 

Both boys bursted out laughing.

 

* * *

 

 7: 30 AM, Assassin Safehouse, San Francisco, CA

 

Evie hadn't slept at all the night before; why did they always put her in the spot? 

Jiya had texted her yesterday about their master plan; and everything sounded great, up until the part where Jiya had mentioned that her brother, would also tag along. 

Honestly last couple of days she had been bombarded with "graciously dropped hints" about her crush on Jayadeep. 

Even Arbaaz had done it! But even then, she just couldn't admit it; there was a reason why her father had taught her to complete her missions with logic not emotions or feelings. 

But the way Jayadeep just made her want to drop the walls around her, simply wasn't good. 

She simply couldn't; but she also knew that pushing him away would be just painful for both her as well as him. 

Things between them had gotten, pretty awkward; especially since Jiya mentioned that her brother talked about her, a whole lot. 

"I swear I'll get back at you Jiya" Evie mumbled as she dressed, she didn't like this; not one bit. 

In these moments; she desperately wished her mom would still be alive, she could have talked to her about what she didn't feel comfortable sharing with Jacob or her father. 

But wishing sometimes does more harm than it does good. 

She had another 12 hours till the mission. 

But first things first,  she needed to go help Sitara and Farah. 

* * *

 

8:00 AM, Highland Hospital, Oakland, Eastern Bay Area, CA

 

Jayadeep was PISSED; beyond what he thought possible at both of his siblings; Ranjiv more than Jiya anyhow. 

He has exactly less then 12 hours to get his shit done; but running on three hours of sleep wasn't great. 

Staying overnight at the hospital had been a bad idea; since the woke up with a sore neck and back. 

"Stupid stubborness" Jayadeep mumbled as he sat up on the bench where he'd been sitting -and slept on-

He was glad his dad hadn't tried to talk to him; despite the fact the was still mulling over what Rodrigo had said to him at the Darkness; the simply didn't want to start and unecessary fight over the fact he'd slept so little. 

Getting up; he walked down the hall, towards his brother's room. Ranjiv was supposed to get discharged today at 8:30, that should give them enough time to pull their shit together. 

"It's great that you don't have any more severe injuries or pain; but take it easy, even though you have healed remarkably fast, no strenuous activities should be done for at least a couple more days" The doctor told Ranjiv and his parents. 

"Thank you, Doctor Diwan" Arbaaz thanked the young doctor. 

Whom, Jayadeep had no doubt was the son of Assassins and possibly an Assassin himself. 

"You must not thank me; it's the least I could do, you saved my father" the young doctor answered; and then spoke to Ranjiv. 

"I'll make a note; so you can justify your absences" 

Only after the doctor had left Jayadeep entered the room. 

He'd had the chance to talk to his mother yesterday; and she has taken the chance to embarrass him over his crush on Evie. 

"Mera beta!" Pyara said to her son as the walked in

"Hi mom" Jayadeep said with a warm smile; Arbaaz made no movement from where the was standing. 

"Father" Jayadeep said to Arbaaz; coldly and withouth even looking at him. 

Arbaaz didn't reply; the just stood there silently, watching. 

"Alright, bhai; I'm ready to get out there" Ranjiv answered,  as the sat up and little taller; the had been bored out his mind for the last 24 hours. 

"No nonsense Raj, if you must do this mission; then make sure you don't strain yourself" Pyara reminded her younger son sternly. 

"Yes maan; I promise, after all Jayadeep will be looking out for me." Ranjiv answered as the shot his brother and look that said.

"I'M A SENIOR IN HIGH SCHOOL; YET I'M BEIGN TREATED LIKE I'M 12!"

"Don't worry mom; I'll look after him, it's just a reconnaissance mission; no necessary involvement." Jayadeep shrugged casually, as he slipped the lie. 

"Good" his mother replied; and couple of minutes later the same doctor that had discharged his brother came back with release form for his parents to sign. 

As his parents busied themselves signing the forms; Jayadeep checked his DedSec app for any news on the whereabout of the Tevez gang. 

Upon finding nothing; he sat down beside his brother, whom was clearly trying to hold down his excitement. 

"Raj?" Jayadeep asked his brother. 

"Yeah" Ranjiv answered as the tried to keep still. 

"I swear upon our Dadaji's good name; that I'll get you back, on the worst way possible" Jayadeep told his brother with an impish smirk. 

Ranjiv just gulped, he had poked a sleeping lion with a hot brazer; for his brother was the worst and the best when payback time rolled around. 

But even under this threath; Ranjiv remained firm on his descision. 

 

* * *

 

 

11: 30 AM, DedSec HQ (Hackerspace), San Francisco, CA. 

 

It had been almost 4 hours since Evie had arrived on the Hackerspace, and at least 3 since she'd been helping Sitara and Farah; with the graphic aspects of DedSec. 

All the while she'd been dying to text Jayadeep; and it had taken almost every ounce of willpower she had, to keep herself from giving in. 

"Evie?" Sitara asked, as she kept on drawing something on her laptop. 

"Uh? Yeah" Evie answered, half lost in thought. 

"Are you almost finished?" Farah asked her. 

Right, she thought _ **; I need to help them.**_

"Not yet, but I'll be done soon" Evie replied with an smile. 

Just a couple of seconds after she'd answered to Farah's questions; Sitara's phone went off, and so she almost tripped in other to get it. 

"OH MY GODDD!" Sitara squealed, as her eyes looked at her phone. 

"What is it?" Both, Evie and Farah, asked in unison. 

"Anil just got tickets for the Hamilton play; I've dying to go to!" Sitara answered, as she showed them her phone. 

"No way! I didn't know you were into Hamilton!" Evie asked her excitedly. 

"Well, Anil got me into it" Sitara answered as she typed a response. 

"Hmm, this Anil fellow; sounds like _**more than a friend....** _ I wonder" Farah said with a clueless mock tone. 

Evie couldn't help but to join in to the teasing. 

"Yeah, isn't that a bit suspicious?" Evied asked rhetorically; as she made a mock thinking gesture. 

It didn't help matters when Sitara blushed fiercely and told them to stop; which only made both girls more determined to get Sitara to spill. 

"You guys are bullies; leave me alone!" Sitara said to them as she reached for her Headphones to block out their annoying -but thruthful remarks-

Evie got to them before she did and she halfheartedly tried to get them back; Evie threw them over to Farah. 

And so their little keepaway game continued up until Sitara promised to spill the beans if and -only- if she got her headphones back. 

Farah agreed to hand the headphones over; once Sitara had satisfactory answered all their questions. 

"So, are you guys dating; or do you have a crush on him?" Farah asked her friend as she toyed with the headphones. 

"Yes" Sitara said as she hurried her face on her hands. 

Both Evie and ah burst into giggles at the expense of their poor friend. 

"How did you guys meet?" Even asked; this helped feel a little better. 

Sitara raised her head and then answered.

"Last year; Marcus and the gang where running an op, I was there to keep an eye out for them; we kinda just ran into each other." Sitara answered, blushing. 

"When did it become official?" Farah asked. 

"About 3 months ago; around the same time the got me into Hamilton." Sitara answered truthfully. 

"Does the pack knows?" Evie asked; she has no idea what had made her want to ask such thing. 

"Anil knows what I do; the knows I work for DesSec; but the pack doesn't knows about him, I don't want to him or his family to be in any kind of danger" Sitara answered; but quickly added "Girls we need to get this moving! Evie has a date with Jay later today; so she's gotta be there in time"

"IT'S NOT A FREAKING DATE!" Evie screamed, exasperated; which only caused the to girls to burst into giggles. 

* * *

 

7:00 PM, Coffee shop near Abstergo Industries, San Francisco, CA. 

 

Jayadeep had taken his brother back home to Berkeley; since both his parents needed to run some errands in Oakland, and well his brother had left his car somewhere out in the middle of nowhere; in Oakland. 

According to his calculations; they were on time; for the most part. 

But he didn't really feel up to the task; how was the going to pull this off. 

"Bhai?" Ranjiv asked him. 

"Yeah?" He answered but his mind was elsewhere. 

"Everything will be fine, just you watch" Ranjiv answered as the kept a look out for Darim and Evie. 

Since he only could take to guests, Darim was a precaution; just in case either his brother or Evie triggered an alarm accidentally. 

But his reassurances did nothing to calm his brother, who went back to pacing. 

Since the party was somewhat of a Masquerade Victorian ball themed; they were supposed to wear masks, which was going to be helpful to hide their identities; and for another purpose that Jayadeep wasn't to keen on admitting: Embarrassment. 

 _ **They were supposed to be here 10 minutes ago,**_ he thought, _**what if the Tevez gang caught up to them?**_

However all his fears dissipated when a car pulled up in fob to the coffee shop. 

Soon Evie and Darim entered the coffee shop; and Jayadeep couldn't help but to stare. 

There was Evie, dressed in a dark green gown; that complemented her features nicely. 

Upon getting a knowing look from Darim; Jayadeep coughed a few times, and peeled his eyes away. 

Hoping he hadn't made himself that much of a fool. 

Ranjiv and himself were dressed in dark gray and blue tuxedos. 

"Right then, Darim; will hold down the fort from here and when its time to bail; Amir will be getting us out" Ranjiv told his companions. 

They nodded their agreements and went on to the event hosted by Abstergo. 

* * *

 

 

7:00 PM, The Darkness, Berkeley,  CA

 

After running some errands in Oakland, Arbaaz had decided to go visit his good friend; Rodrigo. 

He has no sitting at his friends beside for the last 15 minutes; waiting for him to wake up. 

"Arbaaz?" Rodrigo asked his friend as the slowly shook off the grogginess the painkillers and medicines had currently been leaving him on. 

"Yes, my friend; don't tire yourself" Arbaaz replied as the helped Rodrigo to sit up.

"Ha! I'm a grown man, I know my limits" Rodrigo replied now seating up. 

Both assassins shared a laugh. 

"Let me guess; you have come to visit me?" Rodrigo asked; making a mock gesture of thinking. 

"You're right; as always." Arbaaz answered with a light chuckle; and then added "How are you feeling?" 

"I've felt better; but at least I'm out of danger now" Rodrigo replied, and then added "your boy came to visit me as well" 

Upon hearing out his son; Arbaaz's eyes filled with sadness. 

"What did he come for?" Arbaaz asked. 

"To see me of course" Rodrigo replied; for a moment Arbaaz felt jealous of him, his son has always viewed this man as a paternal figure more than him. 

Upon hearing no response from Arbaaz; Rodrigo said. 

"He's a good kid; you need to make amends with your son, we don't know how long we have on this Earth"

"I know; and believe me, I've tried; but every time, he just pushes me away" Arbaaz responded, but then added "I still hate myself for being so afraid of Hamid; I wish that instead of leaving you, Altair and Ethan to shoulder convincing the Council alone, I woulda stayed too" 

"Mistakes are made; nobody is perfect, I told your son that; and I'll tell you the same" Rodrigo said as he looked at his friend. 

"He certainly has trouble seeing that" Arbaaz answered. 

"Yes, that its true; but you're too proud to admit, that you made him want to be you" Rodrigo replied knowingly. 

"You once told me, Children aren't coloring books for is to fill with our favorite colors; and it has taken me at least 17 years, and three children to understand it" Arbaaz replied. 

"You see the wisdom now" Rodrigo answered, and quickly added "Losing always makes us wiser; but losing a child shouldn't, talk to him and force him to listen if necessary" 

"I'll doubt he'll listen; but I will try" Arbaaz answered. Rodrigo chuckled and the said 

"If Jay didn't look a thing like you; the only way to know you two were related, would be your shared stubborness" 

At that both men laughed. 

* * *

 

8:00 PM, Abstergo Industries, San Francisco, CA. 

 

Over the last hour or so; Ranjiv had made small talk with some of his superiors, while Evie and Jayadeep stood as far away from each other as they possibly could on the conference room. 

Even then, Evie couldn't stop herself from stealing looks at him; for someone who almost always wore kurtas and jeans; save for the occasional time where there were football games and the had to wear their College away or home kit. 

He looked so handsome in that tuxedo; that it was taking all of her will power to keep her eyes focused on anything but _**HIM**_.

Jayadeep was on similar predicament on his side of the room; but as he forced his gaze to stay somewhere else, the cursed his younger siblings; in almost every language the was fluent on. 

However their mutual ignoring was ended abruptly when Thorne and Kozlov appeared. 

"Ladies, gentlemen; where her tonight to seal one of the biggest deals Abstergo Industries has ever been offered" A man in a black tuxedo; with a mask that resembled those that Renassaince doctors wore, spoke. 

"For now every branch of Abstergo Industries in the US, will be patterning up with Starrick & Co." 

Everyone on the room broke in applause; most of the people here were workers -ignorant bystanders-, but there were also a couple of Templars; Jayadeep recognized from the Assassination board in the Darkness. 

He watched as Thorne and Kozlov approached his brother. 

The reached inside his jacket for the knife he'd stowed there; for a just in case scenario. 

But as he reached for the knife; someone's hand stopped him. 

"Don't even think about it" A voice said to him, and Jayadeep slowly let go of the knife. 

"That's right! Wouldn't want to alert everyone in this room, now?" The same voice said. 

 _ **I should have seen this coming,**_ Jayadeep thought, as he slowly turned. 

Only to find the one and only Callum Lynch standing there with a huge grin. 

"Lynch?" Jayadeep asked tentatively

"Yup; Sher, it's me" Callum replied as he crossed his arms over his chest, and then added "it was pretty stupid pulling out and knife; here" 

"Says the king of stupidity" Jayadeep replied. 

"Very funny; I take it you aren't alone here?" Callum stated. 

However before Jayadeep could answer; Evie had the tip of a throwing knife pressed against Callum's neck. 

"That's right." Evie replied. 

"Of course, so who's she? Your girlfriend?" Callum asked Jayadeep. 

Jayadeep didn't answer; just stood there looking uncomfortable. 

Evie didn't reply either; but her sureness faltered for a moment. 

Giving Callum exactly what the needed to know; they weren't dating,  but they had a crush on each other. 

"No, she's just my teammate" Jayadeep finally answered. 

"Well pleased to meet you; name is Callum Lynch, but my homies call me Lynch or Cal" Callum introduced himself to Evie, despite the fact that the still had a knife pressed to his neck. 

Just then Evie let go; and introduced herself. 

"Evie Frye" 

"So Jay, Evie; what are you doing here" Callum asked, looking at both of them; whilst checking for Ranjiv. 

"Intelligence retrival" Jayadeep replied. 

"I see, well; Raj will be getting is the key pretty soon." Callum replied. 

"How do you know that?" Evie asked carefully, as her grip on her didn't lossen. 

"Raj briefed me; they have Aslan. So I'm breaking him out" Callum replied. 

Amir had told him that when Cal's team had gotten captured they had been taken to a facility under Abstergo Industries to hook them up to the Animus. 

So Cal had broken them out; but Aslan (Amir Tazim) had stayed behind due to an injury. 

The trio watched in silence and expectation as Ranjiv talked to Throne; minutes passed by, but soon Ranjiv smoothly took Thorne's keys; both her and Kozlov were drunk. 

Kovlov a little less than her but enough to not notice. 

"Its time" Darim said to Jayadeep over his comm. 

"We better go out in the hallway" Jayadeep told Evie and Callum. 

Soon the three assassins slipped out effortlessly. 

But someone had watched them, and decided to follow them outside. 

About ten minutes had passed when Ranjiv slipped out too; the keys to Thorne's office hidden securily on his tuxedo. 

"Great work!" Callum congratuled Ranjiv as he handed over the keys. Jayadeep didn't say anything but gave his brother an approving look; Evie gave him a thumbs up gesture. 

"Okay, I'll keep Kozlov and Thorne out of your way" Ranjiv said to the trio; and then added, "Cal, Aslan is on the same place where they had you guys hooked up last time." 

"Thanks, little sher" Callum said as the took off to save his teammate. 

"Jay, Evie; Thorne's office has motion sensors and cameras; before you turn the corner, disable the cameras outside it; her office is close to those of the High Ranking Templars, so please be careful" Ranjiv said to them after Callum had left. 

"Don't worry about me; you better be careful, I promised you'd come back withouth a scratch" Jayadeep said to his brother before leaving. 

As soon as Ranjiv slipped back in to the party; Evie and Jayadeep left for Thorne's office. 

It wouldn't be difficult finding the offices, but the awkward walk towards them was. 

Before they turned the corner; Jayadeep looped the cameras and turned off the lights remotely, just for good measure. 

Evie used Thorne's keys to open the door; Jayadeep motioned for her to go in first. 

He'd felt someone had been following them; so the hanged back for a moment. 

Using his eagle vision the scoured the area; and found nothing, however the uneasy feeling didn't leave him. 

Making sure Thone's keys stayed on the door to make it look like she'd left them there before the party. 

He went on to help Evie riffle through the numerous papers and notes Thorne had; all the while without saying a word. 

Upon noticing a window; he called Darim. 

"Dog, send Marcus' drone up here; we need light." 

"Right away man" Darim answered; and not five minutes later the drone Illuminated them with light. 

"Thanks vato" Jayadeep replied as the went back to helping Evie. 

"We need to take pictures; if we take the papers she'll know" Evie told him. 

"I agree though; she might be able to figure out the artifacts location if she keeps them" Jayadeep answered. 

As he thought of a way of getting rid of the papers; th saw all the lights of the bay, go off. 

"Darim?!" Jayadeep called his teammate. 

"Dude did you see it?!  It was a motherfucking blackout" Darim answered. 

"I know what we're going to do" Jayadeep told Evie; She waited for him to elaborate "Alarms aren't working; so of anyone broke in, the cameras wouldn't pick them up; so anyone could set fire to this stuff" 

"That's a great idea!" Evie told him; shooting him a smile. 

"Thanks" Jayadeep replied and was suddenly glad that a blackout had happened as well as for his mask. 

 

* * *

 

8: 45 PM, Abstergo Industries, San Francisco, CA. 

 

As soon as the blackout had happened; Ranjiv knew it spelled bad news for their plan. 

"Apologies, generators will be up in 10 to 15 minutes." Their host spoke. 

By this point Thorne was wasted; and Kozlov just about the same. 

However Kozlov got up; and started walking to the exit, he needed to make sure their research was protected. 

"Mr. Kozlov; Do you need help?" Ranjiv called to him. 

"No, thank you" Kozlov answered but as the tried to reach for the handle of the door; he almost fell. So the added, "On second thought; I think I do" 

Ranjiv ran over to where the was and helped Kozlov to his feet. 

"Where will you be going sir?" Ranjiv asked as the prayed that he wouldn't say Thorne's office. 

"My office" Kozlov answered as the swayed in his feet slightly. 

"Where is your office at, sir?" Ranjiv asked. 

"Besides Thorne's office" Kozlov answered as the stood up and little straighter. 

At that Ranjiv felt his stomach drop in fear. 

* * *

 

8:50 PM, Thorne's office, Abstergo Industries, San Francisco, CA. 

 

"Dog; better get out there!?" Darim said a little scared from the other side. 

"Why? What's going on?" Jayadeep asked as the helped Evie. 

"They are fixing the generators; the'll be up in less than 10 minutes!" Darim replied. 

"Okay, okay; dog?" Jayadeep said to Darim. 

"Yeah" Darim answered; he was scared shitless. 

"Stop them from getting them back online" Jayadeep told his teammate. 

"Right" Darim replied, "I'll do that" 

Darim clicked off; and went on his way. 

* * *

 

9:05 PM, Somewhere near Kozlov's office, Abstergo Industries, San Francisco, CA 

 

Even in Kozlov's drunken state the bastard was fast; and Ranjiv was struggling to slow him down. 

 

* * *

 

9:10 PM, Thorne's office, Abstergo Industries, San Francisco, CA. 

 

"It's done!" Darim said to Jayadeep as soon as the clicked back on. 

"God bless you;  you crazy bastard!" Jayadeep congratulated Darim over the earpiece. 

"Dog; Amir is here, Lynch and Aslan are in the van now" Darim informed his friend. 

"Right; we're almost done here" Jayadeep replied as the took the last picture. 

But right at that moment; someone entered the office adjacent to Thorne's. 

Upon hearing that; Evie crossed the rooms fast as she possibly could. Jayadeep was only able to manage the most adorable look of utter confusion, Evie had ever seen. 

She kissed him; in a poorly thought attempt to keep quiet. 

She kept half an eye on the door to stop him from doing anything stupid, that could given them away. 

She was expecting him to try to push her away or to get her to stop.

But what she wasn't expecting was that _**HE**_ would kiss her back. 

 

* * *

 

9:10 PM, Thorne's office, Abstergo Industries, San Francisco, CA. 

 

Kozlov entered his office making a racket and as the checked everything was in order; Ranjiv looked for anything that might help knock his lights out. 

Ranjiv was finally able to see a brass trophy over a shelf; taking it, he moved towards Kozlov. 

Withouth warning; he brought down the trophy onto Kozlov's head knocking him out cold. 

"Thank you, Guardian angel" Ranjiv said as the made it look like the trophy had fallen over his head. 

Moving quickly; he left Kozlov out cold on the floor, and dashed to Thorne's office. 

However as the crossed the threshold he found his brother and Evie kissing. 

Somewhere between grossed out and amazed that his plan had worked out so well. 

He coughed; interrupting the moment. 

Evie and his brother broke apart awkwardly. 

"The guys are done" Ranjiv said as the tried to keep a huge grin from appearing on his face. 

Neither Evie nor his brother said anything; for a couple of seconds. 

Just then Evie left the room in a hurry. 

"So...?" Ranjiv aksed his brother casually

"You tell anyone about this; and I swear I'll murder you" Jayadeep answered as the took a lighter sitting nearby and set fire to the papers. 

Ranjiv only raised his hands in defense; but didn't bother to hide the grin, that sat on his face. 

After Jayadeep had set fire to the stupid papers; the walked out with his brother. 

They reached the van parked outside in less than 10 minutes, Lynch shot Jayadeep a thumbs up gesture and Aslan was equally glad to see his teammate. 

Saddly the only available seat was besides Evie; and the had the sneaking suspicion Darim had something to do with that. 

The ride back to the Safehouse got as awkward as anyone can possibly expect. 

* * *

 

9:20 PM, Somewhere near Thorne's office, Abstergo Industries, San Francisco, CA

 

Lucy Thorne walked drunkenly towards her office. 

However she never made it; she was shot in the back of the head, and died instantly. 

Once the killer had finished; the sent out and reply 

_**A. K** _

_**Its done.** _

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Isn't this great! 
> 
> Just fyi in this AU Sitara is 22 years old; while in the cannon she's about 27.
> 
> Btw the Hamilton thing was Danielle's idea; so thank her :) 
> 
> Also we know Yusuf Tazim's modern day descendant is Amir; so to avoid confusion with Amir Khan (My OC); everyone calls him Aslan (meaning lion in Turkish) 
> 
> Everything goes to the same inbox
> 
> Enjoy and hugs! - BL10


	21. Paper Roses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The assassins finally figure out where the artifact is, Jacob causes problems in London, Evie and Jay are avoiding each other like the plague, Jayadeep saves his brother from the Tevez gang 2.0; and gets caught, DedSec has some issues with the FBI.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you sooooo freaking much to evryone who's supported this, and given me reviews for this, again shout out to @Dudadix, for filling up my inbox /_(-^o^-)_/ Jk
> 
> We have reached 500+ hits so let's keep it strong.
> 
> [BTW I'm considering writting some Henvie one-shots, so lemme know if you have any prompts you would like to have filled, though -disclaimer: I take several honors and AP classes, so life will get crazy AF; and I might not get to yours, but I'll try to anyway.] 
> 
> [It's up now, so go ask.  
> My Tumblr: Is Da Lion ] 
> 
> Song: Paper Roses - KURA ft. Melody Noel

 

Chapter 21: Paper Roses

 

6:45 AM, Assassin Safehouse, San Francisco, CA.

 

It had been almost 9 hours since they had completed the Intelligence retrieval mission, rescued Aslan, and well since _**THAT  PARTICULAR THING,**_ had happened; something that Evie didn't want to spend anymore thinking about.

This time she was absolutely sure that she'd made the _**wrong mo** **ve;**_  because honestly? how else could that be described as?

Evie however was pulled out of her thinking by her phone buzzing on the bed.

 

_**Jacob (AKA LIVING EMBARRASSMENT)** _

 

Rise n shine der sister.

**_Jacob, its 6:45 in the morning; also known as is too early for this bullshit._ **

**_What_ _do you want?_ **

Not my fault, besides London never sleeps; Paris never smiles.

_**Twat, at least try to do the math and figure out the bloody time.** _

Well you see I'm currently failing calculus, so I was wondering I you could send the answers.

**_Jacob._ **

**_I've trying to keep the Templars away from an artifact._ **

**_Been running from the Tevez gang._ **

**_Gone to an infiltarion mission; all the while_ ** **_trying to work out my feelings for someone_ **

**_So in another words, why don't you ask Darim._ **

Wait so your actually trying?

OML THAT'S A FUCKING IMPROVEMENT!!!!!

BLOODY WELL DONE!

_**...** _

_**Seriously, leave me alone. -_-** _

 

Evie just looked down at her phone and turned off the notifications, she really wasn't on the mood to have Jacob; who, constantly teased her about Jayadeep,

_**Heck! After what had happened yesterday -she was pretty sure- she'd never have the courage to look him in the eye.** _

All of this happened because of Jiya's and Ranjiv's bad ideas.

 

* * *

 

7:00 AM, Berkeley High, Berkeley, CA.

 

Jayadeep had offered to drive his brother to school since he needed to keep up with his classes; but mostly to avoid questions from both Jiya and his mother.

Only to be teased by his brother -mercilessly- all the drive to his school.

Which was equivalent to getting out of the Lion's cage, and getting thrown into the Tiger's.

"Thanks, Bhai" Ranjiv said to his brother, as he got out of the car.

"You still need a ride home?" Jayadeep asked his brother.

"Nay, I gotta show up to soccer practice, If I don't wanna get kicked off the team; Johan it's dropping me off" Ranjiv said as picked up his book bag and soccer bag.

"Right, see ya later" Jayadeep said to his younger brother before leaving.

Now at least, he had some peace and quiet; but he doubted that it would be any better than having Ranjiv nagging him.

He just gave somethings way to much thought; this would apparently be one of those situations.

 

* * *

 

7:25 AM, Assassin Safehouse, San Francisco, CA

 

Darim was pulled out of his sleep in an untimely manner by his phone's notifications. 

Groaning and cursing his work, for his current lack of sleep; the got up and checked the offending device. 

He had a couple messages from Marcus. 

_**DA GOATT!! :D** _

 

_**Yo dog!** _

_**We got good news, come by the hq** _

_**When u hav time** _

 

 Aight 

Be there in 15

Do I bring the rest of the team?

_**yeah, cya soon.** _

 

 

Darim wanted to go back to bed and never come out again; after this mission was over, he was going to do just that. 

But not at the moment, for there was work to be done. 

 

* * *

 

7:40 AM, DedSec HQ, San Francisco, CA

It was at times like these that Jayadeep really thought to be one of the most unlucky people in the world. 

Darim had texted about 15 minutes ago that they were to meet at the HQ. 

What he wasn't expecting, was that Evie would already be there. 

 _ **I swear, I'll going to murder Darim when I see him,**_ Jayadeep thought as the stood as far apart from Evie as the possibly could. 

_**How in hell or heaven was the supposed to work with her; after that little incident in Thorne's office?** _

Worse his teammates still teased them mercilessly; which didn't help matter in any possible way. 

"Alright; so I called you here for a little briefing and update" Darim said as he looked for his stack of papers. 

Sounding every bit as the mentor's son as the was; and future mentor too. 

"So what's up?" Manny asked, who looked a lot better than he'd done last time. 

"Well, after hours of neck breaking work; and hijacking a satellite -hands up to J-dog for that one- We have found the P. O. E!" Darim exclaimed excitedly; he'd not been able to hide his excitement. 

Soon the small room was thrown in hell fire as everyone started speaking -which soon evolved- to shouting over each other to be understood and heard. 

"YO PEOPLE,  SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Wrench yelled over his internal mask speaker, to get everyone to chill out. 

"Thank you" He finished the sentence and took his place on the couch again. 

"Um, so as I was saying; we found it. Or more accurate this crazy, amazing people right there, did" Darim said as the pointed at Marcus' team. 

"So where is it?" Evie asked, as she kept ignoring Jayadeep pointedly. 

"In ththTehachapi mountains, well one in particular; it's believed that one of Cal's aancestor, Alejandro de Nehra, traveled here during the time Spain had control over California, and gave it to an Mojave chief, Aspa, for his safe keeping; who in turn placed the artifact in their scared mountain" Darim explained thoroughly. 

Manny was trying to keep a lid on his excitement, while Evie didn't seem satisfied with Darim's answer. 

"So do we know exactly, which mountain is the Mojave's sacred mountain?" Evie asked, yes; she felt hopeful, but without enough hard evidence to go on about; they might as well be chasing mirages. 

"Yes, we do!" Darim answered, as the took a piece of paper -the copy of an old Polaroid photo- of the place. It was marked with assassin's symbol. 

"This was taken by a cartographer in 1950; the man's name, Joan Sebastian; a German assassin" Darim, explained further. 

"He thought it odd, so he sent the picture back to the Brotherhood in Germany; but they never figured out the meaning of it." Marcus said as the pulled up some more evidence. 

As the did so, the surveyed the people still in the room; Evie looked as unconvinced as ever, Manny looked somewhere between relieved and pleased, Jayadeep looked like he wanted to die (Marcus wasn't sure as to why). 

"So? Opinions?" Darim asked his teammates, they had all been miserable before they had stolen Thorne's documents. 

Now they were in much better shape. 

"I'm in" Jayadeep said, before as much as two heartbeats had passed. 

Evie just gaped at him. 

_**How can HE be willing to go through with this?!?!!** _

"Well if the J-dog is going; I therefore declare I'm too." Manny said as he walked the short distance to where Jayadeep stood and put his arm around his friend's shoulder. 

"I thought; you weren't going to come with us?" Evie asked, she was sure she'd heard right. 

"Well, my dad made it. Also the man told me to help you guys; Cal is coming with us" Manny answered, letting go off his friend. 

"Well, someone it's gotta make sure Sef, Johan, Raj and Jiya still have older brothers to look up to" Evie said; and then sighed. 

"I'm in" She finally replied. 

* * *

 

3: 40 PM, Crawford Starrick's home, London, UK

 

"Sir, you have a call" a man said as the entered Starrick's office; and then didn't say anything anymore. 

He was shot, in between the eyes; and his body hit the floor as a crumpled mess. 

" I SAID TO LEAVE ME ALONE!" Starrick yelled like a madman. 

"Starrick my friend, it is no time to mop around" Maxwell Roth said as the entered the study, the looked at the dead man; with not even the slightest hint of emotion. 

He was the most reckless and powerful gangster in all of London; hell maybe England! 

"Get out! I don't want to see of hear from anyone!!!!" Starrick yelled again, and one of the workers -whom was pulling the dead man out- flinched.

"Look, I know Pearl meant a great deal to you; but we must keep going strong if we are to control London" Roth said as he kept his eyes focused on Starrick's, after a short pause the continued "I have a deal with our good friend, Jacob Frye." 

At the mention of Jacob Frye, Starrick stopped his moping momentarily. 

Roth had Starrick's full and unwavering attention. 

* * *

 

3: 40 PM, Crawford Starrick's factories, The Strand, UK

 

A young man, ran away from an explosion. 

The now, known Rooks stood back and sliced the Blighters to pieces as they tried to get away from the now burning fire and minor explosions. 

 The young man who'd ran from the explosion, was indeed Jacob Frye. 

"Let's leave a nice message for Starrick to find, lads!" Jacob yelled over to his Rooks as he pulled out his cane sword -another of his grandfather's relics- and killed a Blighter. 

The Rooks did exactly as their boss had asked and continued on spreading chaos and fear among the Blighters gang. 

Jacob loved the progress they were making; and for all this he had to thank Max Roth. 

 

* * *

 

6: 00 PM Berkeley High, Berkeley, CA

 

Soccer practice had been extremely boring for Ranjiv; since all the could do was stand in the sidelines and juggle a ball. 

He'd not been able to run any drills, or play on small scrimmages. 

All because of that stupid wound. 

Finally, practice was over; and he couldn't feel anymore relieved to finally be able to go home. 

So, he patiently waited for Johan to pack his things. 

"Ready?" Johan asked him, as he sent his mom a quick text. 

"Yeah, let's go" Ranjiv answered, the didn't have his phone; and probably wouldn't have it, for a long time. 

Both boys walked together to the senior parking lot, which was right in front of the school's gym. 

However before they made it to Johan's car they were stopped by Assef's brother -Aaquil- whom, in contrast with his brother was far more down to earth and mature. 

"Raj?" Aaquil asked, tentatively. 

"Yeah" Ranjiv answered, he got along with Aaquil; not so much with Assef. 

"I just wanted to apologize for my brother's comments towards, Jay; he's a great guy" Aaquil said, meaning every word and every letter, as he always did. 

"All is forgiven, but you shouldn't apologize for something your brother did; he should" Ranjiv answered as he fished around in his bookbag, for his calculus homework. 

Aaquil laughed and then replied. 

"Well, that's why I do it; because he's incapable of doing so." 

At that the three boys laughed; for it was true. 

"Well, we gotta go; so we'll catch you later A" Johan said as the walked over to the driver's side. 

"Yeah catch you on the flip" Ranjiv said to Aaquil as he patted the boy in his shoulder. 

"Right. See you guys!" He replied before walking towards his own car. 

Ranjiv's house was about 20 minutes drive from their school to his house; and a couple more to Johan's. 

But at the 10 minute mark, the boys suddenly noticed that a car was following them; in the beginning they didn't mind. 

But now they did; the van had tinted windows, which it was the unspoken language in California for gangs. 

"Jo, this are the Tevez; ain't them?" Ranjiv asked as he wished the could have gotten his phone back; for what seemed like the thousandth time that day. 

"Yep, and unless Jay or Darim drop out of the sky; we're on our own" Johan replied as the kept driving carefully. 

He knew that, if he dropped off Ranjiv , he'd be compromising the location of the rest of his family. 

Something he didn't want to and couldn't do. 

"Jo, let me use your phone; gotta tell my dad" Ranjiv asked his teammate. 

"It's in my soccer bag; front pocket" he answered as the kept his eyes from on the road. 

Someone had tipped the Tevez off about them, that; by itself didn't leave many suspects. 

While Ranjiv called his dad; Johan prayed they would be able to loose their persecutors in the traffic on the main road, which lead away from their homes. 

"Come on Dad, pick up!" Ranjiv said with an slight tremble in his voice. 

After a couple of minutes, of waiting for his dad to pick up; Ranjiv finally hung up and texted him instead. 

His dad was probably at a meeting or something like that. 

"So?" Johan asked hopefully. 

"Nothing, Jo; he's probably in a meeting or training the initiates" Ranjiv replied as he looked for their pursuers, through the side mirror. 

However their efforts to escape were cut short; when while taking a back road through the neighborhood; in which Sandeep Patel -one of Jayadeep's teammates- lived in, they were stopped between two black vans with tinted windows. 

There were only two options, fight or flight. 

* * *

 

7:10 PM, Mir Residence, Berkeley, CA. 

It was 7: 10; when Jayadeep had showed up at his parent's house; the only reason why the was there. 

He'd promised to take Ranjiv to the library to check out Tale of Two Cities, since he'd been out when his classmates checked out their copies. 

"Raj! I'm here bhai!" Jayadeep called out. 

He soon sat down one of the living room's couches; and got down to trying to come up with an apology for Evie. 

He'd really felt like an asshole after the kiss in Thorne's office; the least the could do was to apologize. 

10 minutes trickled by... 

Ranjiv hadn't come downstairs yet. 

 _ **Well, there's always a chance he's got his headphones in,**_ Jayadeep thought as he climbed up the stairs. 

He knocked on his brother's door; and no answer came out, which definitely worried Jayadeep. 

Gently pushing the door open, the entered his brother's room; Ranjiv wasn't there. 

He was supposed to be gotten from practice about an hour ago; so why wasn't the there?. 

However before Jayadeep was able to expand the question; his phone rang, it was Ranjiv's number. 

"Bhai!?" Jayadeep asked, to whom the presumed was his brother. 

"Well, how sweet; Jayadeep Mir." A voice that wasn't his brother's answered. 

"Who's this?" Jayadeep asked as he moved to stand behind a wall. 

For all the knew they could be right outside, and could have a sharpshooter on him. 

"My name is Kozlov; and if you want your kid brother back, you'll do like I say." Kozlov ended his sentence coldly. 

"Why should I believe; let alone consider helping you, Kozlov" Jayadeep answered, spitting out Kozlov's name. 

The man just chuckled and then told one of his thugs to remove the gag from their captive; in Spanish. 

"Bhai, don't tell them anything; they want the P. O. E!" Ranjiv said to his brother as soon as he got the phone. 

"Raj! Are you alright?!" Jayadeep asked as he tried to keep worry out of his voice. 

But, their communication was cut short by Kozlov.

"Your brother's alright; but he won't be in the next two hours and a half, so it's up to you. Bring me the location of the place" The Russian said, abruptly ending the call. 

Leaving Jayadeep standing there; somewhere in-between furious and scared. 

He needed to make a choice. 

That choice, was going to be either make or break.

* * *

 

7: 20 PM, Unknown Location, San Francisco, CA. 

 

Wrench woke up, he felt like he'd hit the marijane while drunk on tequila. 

But then, it hit him... 

He hadn't been trying to get high of drunk. He'd been trying to go to the hideout, when the FBI assholes turned up. 

 _ **Yup, I done fucked up;**_ Wrench thought glumly as his still asleep brain; faintly realized that he was handcuffed to a chair.... but the soon realized a much bigger problem. 

He wasn't wearing his mask.... the only time the took it off, was when he took baths. 

_**Uh, oh.... this is not good.** _

But he had absolutely no time, to try and figure out why he'd been taken prisoner.

An FBI Agent entered the holding room, accompanied by a big guy.

**_I really, did it this time._ **

"This guy, got a name?" The big guy asked the agent.

"As far as an actual name, no. But his only alias, we got on the database is, Wrench" The agent replied, and then told Wrench "Should we start, now?"

Wrench didn't reply, but he only though one thing.

_**Guys; please come save me.** _

* * *

 

7:30 PM, DedSec HQ, San Francisco, CA

 

Jayadeep had never been one for risky driving or speeding, but by the time he'd gotten to the DedSec Headquarters; he was sure he'd broken enough driving laws and rules to be put under federal custody for a couple of years.

He enthered the hacker's base of operation, was soon welcomed by Horatio's favorite music: Happy Hardcore, namely Kayzo.

"Horatio! Turn that shit down!" Sitara yelled over to the younger hacker.

"But, IT'S KAYZO!" Marcus whined alongside Horatio, only getting Sitara to yell at them even more. 

"I DON'T CARE!!! I NEED TO STUDY FOR MY ART EXAM AND THIS IS DISTRACTING!" 

Jayadeep, who had just walked in, on the middle of an argument; decided to turn off the music. 

"Hey! Why you do that?!" Horato inquired, his annoyance was far to clear. 

Jayadeep just ignored him, and walked over to where Marcus and Sitara were arguing their heads off. 

"Guys" Jayadeep said to both of them, they turned around immediately. 

Whatever had happened was serious, very serious. 

"What's up dog?" Marcus was the first to ask, he'd known Jayadeep since they had both been in sixth grade. But even then he had never seen him like this. 

"Kozlov, has my brother" Jayadeep replied, he has to say no more; they knew what the release conditions were. 

"Shit...." Sitara interjected, raising her hands up to her head. 

"Whats are we doing?" Horatio asked, finally joining the conversation. His demeanor was also serious. 

"We can't give them any intel, we do that and we're fucked." Jayadeep said, as he ran a hand through his hair "I'm going after them. Alone" 

"What, FUCK TO THE HELL NO!" Marcus interjected, he wasn't about to let his friend do this. 

"I second to Marcus" Sitara said as she leaned against a table.

"I too" Horatio provided, as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Then what I'm supposed to do; because if letting Raj die is a solution, then it want no part in it." Jayadeep answered,  looking at his teammates to see if anyone had better plans. 

"But, you can't do this dog. Even if you were to give the Intel to Kozlov;  which I know you won't, what are the chances of him not killing you?" Horatio stated, getting approving nods from both, Marcus and Sitara. 

"I can't just sit on my hands either, if Kozlov has the Tevez wrapped around his finger; how long until he send them after you?" Jayadeep said to his friends "If I'm going, then I have to kill him as well" 

"Shit! Fuck! Fuck! Shit! It's one damn thing right after the other" Marcus said putting his hands on his his and looking down at the ground. 

"Still, Jay; we can't let you do this, this is suicide!" Horatio said as he looked at Jayadeep to see if he thought the same. 

Maybe, he hadn't known Jayadeep for as long as Marcus and Wrench had; but it was clear that he wasn't going to change his mind easily. 

"How long did he give you?" Sitara asked, taking the reins of the situation once again. 

"Two hours and 15 minutes; if not he's going to let' El Cholo', execute my brother cartel style" Jayadeep said looking at Sitara. 

"It seems we have no choice" Sitara told Marcus and Horatio, they both sighed dissaprovingly; but knew they had no other way. 

"Aight, fine; but we're covering your sorry self" Marcus said in a defeated tone. 

"What we tell the guys if they ask, where you at?" Horatio asked, straighten up. 

"Whatever you want, just keep them off of this" Jayadeep answered as he checked his hidden blade. 

"Aight" the DedSec trio replied. 

* * *

 

7: 30 PM, Unknown Location, San Francisco, CA. 

 

"You know, it is no shame to wear a mask; even DeadMau wears one, accordingly to something he said in one of his only masterclasses, he does it to overcome stage freight and to not see the dissapointment of his fans on the crowd" The FBI agent -Scott- explained to Wrench as he looked over his mask. 

"I'm not like DeadMau; I don't do it for those reasons" Wrench replied, barely able to keep his anger under a lid.

"No matter, so tell me; where you buddies at?" Scott asked Wrench "More importantly where's Retr0?" 

"Tear me to pieces, if you want. I'M NOT TELLI G YOU SHIT!" Wrench said, ending his sentence with a little emotion. 

"I don't need to; I know were your loved ones live" Scott threatened. 

"Huh? My family? Kill them if you want, I was adopted" Wrench replied with cold indifference. 

"I also know where your friends live, Marcus, Horatio, Sitara, Johan, Raj. i know where they are, and I won't hesitate to put all of you under federal custody" Scott replied, as he watched a muscle in Wrench's jaw; jump. 

He'd hit a nerve, and was going to make the most of it. 

"You won't get Johan, as a public figure; no one has the right to arrest him under mere suspicions, you need an actual reason. Like drug trafficking, pretty much what you're hoping working for Dusan covers up for you." Wrench replied with a sly smile. 

"We'll see, one of this days; the EDM Superstar, KOZU is going to be behind bars" Scott said back to Wrench, as he waited. 

The harder they are to break, the more information they squeak when done. 

_**Guys, I'm so sorry if I rat you out.** _

* * *

 

8:00 PM, Unknown Location, Oakland, CA. 

"Kozlov!" A Chicano gangster called over to the Russian. 

"Que quieres?" Kozlov replied. 

"Cuanto tiempo le diste a ese cabrón?" The same Chicano asked again. 

"Dos horas y media" Kozlov answered as he checked his phone. 

"Me cago en tu puta madre, quien crees que eres; tu pa' estar demandando esas chingadas?" 

"Para ya! José, si el jefe quiere que le ayudemos a este gringo entonces; so hacemos, me entendiste cabrón?" Another chicano told his vato to stop his yapping. 

The first chicano -Jose- just turned around and grumbled something about the Tevez turning into a bunch of cowards. 

"No se preocupe, Kozlov; ese solamente habla por hablar" The other one, apologized to his boss's client; that was his duty. 

To keep things running smoothy for the gang and it's business. 

"Hm.. espero que sí, porque si tu no lo pones en linea; you te lo enderecho en dos madrasos" Kozlov replied, as he kept an eye on his captive. 

_**Jayadeep Mir, you have two hours on the dot; to be here with the intel, if you want your brother back.** _

* * *

 

8:10 PM, Unknown Location, Oakland, CA. 

 

Jayadeep had been able to find the location of the place where Kozlov had taken his brother. 

Of course, he would have never gotten it by his own accord; he was too shaken up and angry to even think about how to find the russian. 

That was when Marcus and his superior knowledge of triangulating places came in handy. 

Marcus had found the place in no time at all; giving him enough time to cool down. 

So now, here he was; standing there with nothing more than his hidden blade, desert sniper pistol, smoke bombs and poison gas bombs. 

"Dog? You there?" Marcus voice came in, from the comm. 

"Yeah, I was coming up with the best plan of action" Jayadeep replied, he didn't wanted to be mean to Marcus; but in truth, the hacker needed to better his timing. 

"So?" Marcus yet again, questioned. 

"So, what? Be a little more specific please" Jayadeep replied.

If Marcus didn't stop in the next five minutes; he was going to murder the hacker, when he got back. 

"Know what, Imma leave you in peace so you can plan. Though before you go in tell us" Marcus said as he finally caught on to the hints that Jayadeep was annoyed beyond belief, by his interruption. 

Mercifully clicking off, leaving Jayadeep in blessed silence to finish thinking. 

_**Right. I HAVE to do this perfectly, otherwise; my brother is going to pay the price for it, if I make any mistakes.** _

"Guys, I'm going in; requesting back up, now" Jayadeep said as he'd finally decided on his plan of action. 

"Roger, entrance cams will be looped in 3, 2, 1. Now!" Horatio said as he'd just finished typing in the last line of codes. 

"Roger, that" Jayadeep replied as he started moving towards the building quietly and quickly. 

As much as he trusted Horatio's and the gang's skills, he knew better than to stand around; waiting. 

* * *

 

8:45 PM, Assassin Safehouse, San Francisco, CA.

 

"I'm finally finished!" Evie said to herself, as she stood up from her desk and streched. 

She'd been sitting on that desk for, at least; four hours straight, researching very aspect of the location of the artifact. 

But.... research hadn't been, the only reason why she has buried her head on books and other public records. 

That particular reason, was the kiss... 

The kiss she'd given Jayadeep, just the day before in Thorne's office; and it's consequences... 

Now, that she was finished; once again, she couldn't stop her mind from wandering to that particular occurence. 

She was somehow sure that Jayadeep had...... kissed her... back... 

But she wasn't all that sure. 

_**God, why I'm even thinking about this.... that was totally my fault, besides he just sees me as a friend.** _

However, before her mind could contradict her; in this predicament, her buzzing phone derailed her train of thought. 

"Evie?" The caller asked, Evie immediately rrecognized as Sitara. 

"Yeah, what's up?" Evie asked as she plopped down, on her bed. 

"Jay.... he's... he's....." 

"Sitara, spit it out; now!" Evie replied sternly. 

"Goddamit, fuck, shit! Jay's in a fix, and his sorry self has prohibited telling anyone about this!" Sitara replied, from the other side of the line. 

As terrified as she was for Jay's safety, she was also furious towards him; he was supposed to be the most talented assassin that the Californian brotherhood had had in over a genration.

Yet his sorry self had gotten himself captured.... by thugs

"Where. Is. He? I'm going after him" Evie replied, her voice as cold and set as steel. 

"A warehouse in Oakland, I'm sending you the coordinates and directions right now" Sitara said as she hurriedly typed away at her keyboard.

"Thanks" Evie replied as she got up, and gathered her equipment. 

"Evie?" 

"Hm" 

"I don't know what's going between you and Jay; but please, save his sorry hide. You can murder him later"

"Trust me, if he survives me; he's no going to survive his mom; after this stunt." Evie replied, as she walked out of her room. 

* * *

 

9:10 PM, Unknown Location, Oakland, CA. 

 

 _ **So much for being the most talented assassin in over a generation,**_ Jayadeep thought glumly as the thugs made sure his bindings were secured properly. 

_**Just great!** _

Getting caught was his absolute fault; he should have been happy with just rescuing his brother, but no, his stubborn self had to try go after Kozlov. 

Therefore his current situation wasn't all that great, but he was happy Raj had made it out of the warehouse, just before he'd been caught. 

"I really didn't think, you would have the guts to come here and try to kill me; because of your...um...weakness" Kozlov stated, as he walked around the room. 

Jayadeep didn't dare utter a word, it was bad enough that he'd been captured; last thing he wanted was to poke the bear with a stick. 

"It's more fun, if you would reply" Kozlov yet again said. 

No answer. 

"Well, I suppose since you're not telling me anything; I'll just beat it out of you" The Russian said as he signaled three of the biggest gangsters to step forward. 

"Este cabrón no quiere hablar, así que le van a dar hasta que lo haga; entendido?" Kozlov commanded

"Si señor!" The gangsters quickly replied. 

Jayadeep quickly scanned his surroundings for anything he could use to overpower the brutes, but being tied down to a chair, cartel style, didn't help all that much. 

All too soon; one of the gangsters fists made contact with his jaw, that one stung like a motherfucker. 

However, for the last two years or so; he'd trained with Altair and Darim. 

Altair as sokething like a Green Beret, in the US Army; he'd been sent to the middle east and couple of times, so he knew all about how to withstand pain when tortured. 

 _ **Well, let's hope I can do this,**_ Jayadeep thought, as he braced himself for the next blow. 

* * *

 

9:50 PM, Unknown Location, Oakland, CA. 

 

 _ **Jayadeep Mir, you... stupid, stubborn, reckless, walking-living-breathing-annoyance;** _ Darim thought as he walked in the cover of darkness. 

He'd overhead Evie and Sitara talking, his first instinct was to let Evie handle this one; because of what had happened in Thorne's office. 

But, he soon threw caution to the wind. 

All sense of cool thinking and strategy, be dammed; as well. 

He'd known Jayadeep for almost as long as they had both been alive; since his dad was in the army, he'd lived in Arizona most of his life; but spent his summer with his uncle in Cali. 

Whom happened to live in the same neighborhood as Arbaaz and his family, since then they had been pretty much inseparable; for the better of the worse. 

"Guys?" Darim called out silently into his comm, he hoped to get an answer soon. 

"Yup, we're here; out to cause a blackout so make sure that Evie knows" Marcus replied as he got his act ready. 

"A'ight" Darim said as he clicked off his comm, and moved to position. 

Just as he'd gotten into position, he was knocked out cold; and would stay that way until morning. 

"Sorry, Darim; I just can't have you being a hindrance" Evie told her unconscious comrade, as she dragged to relatively more secure place. 

 _ **I swear, when I find Jayadeep..... I'm going to murder him myself, he's got no right to be putting his siblings, teammates, or mother under this kind of stress,**_ Evie thought as she turned on her eagle vision in order to find him. 

* * *

 

10: 00 PM, Unknown Location, Oakland, CA. 

 

"Gotta hand it to you, others would have cracked a long time ago" Kozlov said, as he motioned for the brutes to stop their ministrations. 

"I will never sell my comrades out, ever. I'M NOT TELLING YOU ANYTHING" Jayadeep replied, as he coughed out some blood. 

"Well, I'm not the one that'll end up with a bunch of broken bones and ribs, because of stubborness" Kozlov retorted at Jayadeep's answer. 

Once again, Kozlov ordered the gangsters to continue; this time however they were far more violent. 

Jayadeep assumed, Kozlov had no patience to deal with his integrity, any longer. 

A while ago, the ropes binding his hands to the chair; had come loose, which had enabled him to block some hits. But the three gangsters soon got rid of the problem. 

One of them kept him pinned, while the other two got their work done. 

Jayadeep was pretty sure; that he had some broken ribs. 

At this point, the three gangsters were kicking him; mercilessly .

_**So, this is it? Too sad I never got to see Raj, finally beat me in FIFA.** _

Just as he thought that, all the lights went out. 

One by one, he heard the pain filled cries of the gangsters as they fell from multiple wounds. 

"Hijo de su puta madre, corran cabrones!!!! " A Mexican gangster yelled, over the sounds of fighting to his remaining teammates. 

The remaining gangsters fled, and alongside them was Kozlov. 

"Jay!? Jay!? Wake up you idiot!!" A familiar voice called to him. 

"E-evie?" Jayadeep asked tentatively, with how dark the damn warehouse had become, he couldn't see a fucking thing. 

"Yeah, and don't think I'm letting you off easy" Evie replied; as she checked to see if he had any wounds that required immediate treatment, that she could provide

"Of course, by the way; I have some broken ribs, besides that... I'm fine" Jayadeep replied as he started to get back up. 

"No you're not; I'm taking you to a hospital right now" Evie replied, as she shot him; what she thought was an stern enough gaze. 

"Evie, look, I'm fine; I've dealt with worse than this"  Jayadeep said, "Is Raj fine?"

"He's fine, better than you by any account; I don't want to sound heartless. But seriously, did you even think about how to do this. Like at all?" Evie asked, giving him THE look. 

"Are you kidding me? Of course I did, that's why Raj isn't hurt or worse. His safety is more important to me, than my own well being" Jayadeep replied looking back at Evie. 

_**Why are you fighting me on this, now?** _

"Do you EVEN realize that this mission is far more important than..... even our own guys?" Evie asked. 

She would never admit it to herself; but under her harash tone, she was deeply concerned about him. Wether she liked it or not, she'd fallen for him. 

But even then, the mission always came in first. 

What he'd done had been completely out of line. 

This was it.... the last thing that had finally caused him to snap, to lash out.... 

"The mission....the goddmned, fucking mission. Because of this, I have almost lost my brother twice, and been closer to death more times than I would like to admit. It's not even my death that would bother me, its the way this mission. IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE LIVES OF OUR COMRADES." Jayadeep spoke. 

He was sick and tired of this...... of everything. 

The mission, is far more important .... 

That had stung more than anything.

Those words...... 

His father had said to him, six years ago. 

When he was seventeen; when he'd worked up the nerve to confront him. 

_**"The mission, SHOULD and WILL; always come first. Those kids you heroically, but stupidly saved, were nothing more than mere sacrificial pieces"** _

"You know? If the mission IS more important than the life of a teammate; then.... I'm out"  Jayadeep said to her "I once was put under a death sentence for putting my teammates ahead of the stupid mission. Everything I got? A gun pointed at my head and my father telling me that no matter how close, some people are just supposed to be sacrificial pieces" 

"Jay...." 

"No, don't. You have made your point clear enough" 

With that final and cold comment, Jayadeep turned around and left. 

Leaving, Evie; feeling confused. 

Because, she would only come to realize how much her words had hurt him.... 

Much later.......by Darim's account


	22. More Than Ever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jayadeep vanishes from the Earth, Darim tries to talk to him; and so does Evie. Jay avoids them, Darim tells Evie a little more about Jay's failed mission. Raj is there to offer moral support for his brother.  
> A certain hacker rescues Wrench's self :), Arbaaz is an absolute asshole this chapter (sorry not sorry).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the massive support and comments.
> 
> You guys' are always giving the necessary drive and encouragement to keep at it.
> 
> Don't forget to hit me up in Tumblr for any promps you would like to have filled.
> 
> Song: More Than Ever - Breathe Carolina & Ryos ft. Karra
> 
> P.s: My B-day is today!!!, so excuse I if I don't answer your comments right away.

 

Chapter 22: More Than Ever

 

5:40 AM, Somewhere in Berkeley, CA

 

_**Is_d_boii** _

_**Dog? I gotta talk to you** _

_**Plz answer me.** _

_**Jay?** _

_**?** _

_(Seen 56 seconds ago)_

 

Jayadeep looked at his phone in disdain once again, he hadn't slept anything at all last night.

In the end, how could he? 

**"The mission, is more important the lives of our own guys"**

_**"The mission, SHOULD and WILL; always come first. Those kids you heroically, but stupidly saved, were nothing more than mere sacrificial pieces"** _

Those words had been bouncing around in his head, like ping pongs, all throughout the night.

How could some people be able to sleep at night, if they were willing sacrifice others, to save their own skin.

His mission.

His god-forsaken, failed mission....

He still had nightmares about it, about the two kids he couldn't save.

Rahul and Dorian.

They had just turned 16, true prodigies; had passed their blooding at age 14 with flying colors.

Yet....they had died, 2 years later. In a recovery mission, to save Cal's sorry ass from the Templars.

They had died heroes, had left others behind to take up for them.

They had left him, with nothing but anger towards himself and guilt.

Because he should have been smarter, faster, stronger.

All and all, he should have made a better call.

He should have been able to save ALL of them, no matter what.

Not even if he would have died, if Raj had never forgiven him for dying.

Others would have gladly forgotten about their sacrifice, and moved on with their lives.....

So why couldn't he, do the same?

_**I'll go see you guys today. Rahul, Dorian.** _

Jayadeep thought as he walked back to his car. 

Somehow, seeing the far away lights calmed him.

He had to go somewhere, anywhere else than the safe house.

After what had happened last night, he knew he didn't have the courage to face Evie.

Much less to explain why, he'd acted that way.

Finally after opening his car's doors, he opened his Snapchat and sent a snap to Raj. Whom was probably awake now, and getting ready to go to school.

When all failed; Raj, Jiya and Darim had always been there to pick him back up.

 

* * *

 

6:00 AM, Assassin Safehouse, San Francisco, CA.

 

Evie had been wide awake since 3 in the morning, mostly because she couldn't stop thinking about what Jayadeep had said to her.

_**"You know? If the mission IS more important than the life of a teammate; then.... I'm out"** _

She had felt so guilty, so guilty beacuse unknowingly she'd hurt him.

She still couldn't phantom, why her words had stung him so badly.

But, somehow she knew that his reaction to her words and his comment about having nightmares about his failed mission; were connected.

Even then, she had no way to know for sure; of course, unless she asked him, which was out of the question or asking his sibilings.

Asking Jayadeep was COMPLETELY out of the question, beacuse of what she'd done; besides, he'd been ignoring her texts for over the last two hours or so.

That ocurrence didn't leave much, to answer her growing question.

_**I could ask Darim.** _

Evie mulled over this, until she answered her own suggestion.

**_Um, actually no. Your dumbass self knocked the fuck outta him._ **

Sighing in utter defeat, Evie walked back to her bed and picked up her phone.

Once again, only to find that Jayadeep had read her messages but failed in replying to them.

It had become, so hard. Almost impossible, for her to not throw her phone across the room; out of sheer desperation.

Cursing under her breath, she put her phone back to charge.

"Evie?"

A familiar voice, shook her out of her thoughts. Looking up to find the origin of said voice, she was met by electric blue eyes and light brown hair.

"Oh, Darim. How.....is that?" Evie replied, as she pointed towards his head.

"Not as bad as it look" Darim replied, grinning, "I've had worse"

Evie only nodded. She could have used his help, when she had talked to Jayadeep. 

But no, instead she'd destroyed whatever they had.

"He hasn't turned up yet, has he?" Darim asked, once again; pulling her out of her train of thoughts.

"No, nothing" The brunette responded.

"Hm" 

"Do you think something happened, to Jay?" Evie asked, concern was clear on her voice.

Darim noticed that; and immediately asked.

"You didn't say anything to him, did you?" 

"I.....I did" Evie replied, looking down at her phone.

"Well?"

"I don't think I have the courage to tell you, what I told him" 

Darim sighed, as he walled to the window.

Why did he always make friends with the most stubborn and difficult of people?

"Look, if you don't tell me then there's no chance we find Jay. I know how he thinks, if I know what you told him I can find him" Darim replied, as he looked out the window.

The view of this safe house; was great, not exceptional, but great. Nonetheless.

"Fine. I'll tell you" Evie sighed, as she searched for courage "I told him that the mission always takes priority, even over the lives of the ones we call comrades"

"Hm, so that's what it was" Darim answered, as he turned to look at her in the slightest.

"What do you mean?" The British assassin asked, "Do this have to do anything with his failed mission?"

"Not just anything Evie, everything that's going on with Jay traces back to his failed mission" Darim replied, looling hack at him.

"What do you mean?" 

"I mean, what you said to him.....It was the exact same thing his father told him, six years back." Darim answered "That day, after Rahul and Dorian died, he made a promise. He promised to never let anyone get hurt, for his sake; ever again"

"But why? It wasn't his fault" Evie replied, even though a part of her already knew the answer.

"He has low latent inhibition, he just doesn't see things the way we do..."

"Low latent inhibition?" Evie asked.

"Oh yeah, I forgot; well instead of seeing your phone, he would be able to visualize; to see the wires, the mechanisms, everything that makes it work" Darim replied.

"When those two kids died, he discovered he had that. What happened to him is somwhat unique" Darim finished, then took a breath to continue "he is able to see the grief in others, to understand it. It's in his nature, to be kind, to help others"

"That's why." Evie replied.

"Yeah, nobody in his family knows that he has that. After his banishment sentence was over, about a year ago. He stayed in the UK, he was undergoing treatment for this" Darim replied, then casually looked out the window "That is why he didn't think about himself or the consequences, when he went after Raj"

"Now I wish....I hadn't said those things to him, if he would have only told me about it." Evie said, more to herself that Darim.

He chuckled, and shook his head.

"You know, you're luckier that others; only few know why 'Arbaaz's son' was banished, and only 2 of us -well, now 3- now he has low latent inhibition" Darim replied, turning to look at her "He didn't tell you why, because he cares about you too much to involve you, with the 'real him'"

"Why is that?" The brunette asked, curiosily.

"The part of Jay you see, is just a mirage. Deep inside he's.....tortured, he blames himself each day he wakes up; beacuse he wasn't able to save Dorian or Rahul" Darim answered "You know, right after we finished Senior year; I was worried for him, I thought he was going to... you know....commit suicide."

"Was he...going to?"

"No" Darim answered "He loves Raj and Jiya to the death, to do that to them. Of course, they aren't the only ones now." The syrian descendant, finished; looking at her.

"What's that look supposed to mean?"

Darim facepalmed, and then spoke.

"I don't know who's denser you, or that idiot I call my friend" Darim answered, walking over to sit by the chair near he desk "He might have low latent inhibition, and be able to see more details that I never could; but he can't see what's obvious"

"Again? What do you mean? Also if you're gonna Yoda someone, at least be helpful. You are the most unhelpful Yoda, I've ever encountered." Evie replied shooting him, THE LOOK.

"I'm not an unhelpful Yoda, I'm just telling you things the way I see them" Darim replied, and then continued "Anyhow, I'm just saying he loves you. He's probably been in love with you, since he met you." 

"W-what?"

"Yeah, Hard he fell" Darim said, raising his hands in a it's-just-facts posture.

"I swear, if you don't quit you're unhelpful Yodaing; I'll throw my phone at you!" Evie replied as she got ready to fling her phone at Darim.

"Okay, okay. But I mean it, he's been in love with you for probably the past 9 or 10 months; he threatened to kill me if I ever told you" Darim replied putting his hands up in a surrendering motion.

"He....he did?" Evie asked, as she took a deep gulp of air.

"Yeah, look the point is...Maybe what he shows to others about himself is just a mirage, but what he feels for you IS NOT" Darim spoke, vehemently "If anything ever happened to you...he would feel the same way he did back when Dorian and Rahul died, this time though; it be much worse. You have come to mean a lot to him"

Evie didn't say anything back, but even though her eyes were cast down; Darim could still see that she was struggling to process what he'd just told her.

**_Well, if the J-Dog does find out about me singing louder than a mockingbird; I'll die happy, cause at least he'll have someone that's gonna be there for him._ **

Darim thought, as a small smile made it's way to his lips.

"He's gotta hate me now" Evie replied withouth looking up, a couple of minutes after he'd given her time to process the new information.

"He doesn't"

"But...."

"He does NOT" Darim replied as he streched his arms, "He's just angry, with himself, with the Brotherhood, with his Dad. He isn't even mad at you; if his opinionated, assassin in shining robes hasn't come back; is just beacuse he doesn't wants to tell you why he acted the way he did."

"Beacuse he's the idiot, who is in love with me" Evie answered, echoing the words Darim had said a while ago.

"Yeah, pretty much; he's scared that somehow he has fucked up the only chance he had of being...um...with you" Darim answered, shooting her a cheeky grin.

"Well, then I guess...we better go find him. I do owe Jay an apology, after all" Evie said as she stood up.

"Now that's the spirit" Darim replied as he walked out Evie's room, right after her.

* * *

 

7:00 AM, Berkely High, Berkely, CA

 

"As we know, the Aztecs had very complex and efficient irrigation systems; since their capital city had been established in thr middle of teh Texcoco lake...."

Raj looked down at his phone, he'd finally gotten it back. 

Swearing over and over, that he'd never follow Johan again for any stupid stuff; or anything else.

Spanish class was one of the most boring classes of his first semester, he'd learned the baiscs of the language from Manny. So sitting on Mrs.Gillet's class was totally pointless for him.

**_Fuck me! I only have to sit on this class for two more months, Why? Why? Why? Did I say I wanted to go to Standford like Bada Bhai?_ **

Snapchat:  _J_Mir (Bhai) (2)_

Looking at the Snapchat notification, under the table; he decided to open the app on his phone.

_J_Mir (Bhai)_

**_Raj?_ **

**_If Evie or Darim coming asking where I'm at, don't worry._ **

_Y? What happened?_

_Everything alright?_

Raj typed back quickly, thanking the lord Jesus that his last name was Mir; and not Kaur.

For he sat in all classes near the back.

**_Yeah._ **

**_Hey, you're in school. Let's meet at the beach when you're out of soccer._ **

_Yeah, sure._

_Practice ends at 4 today._

_:)_

Raj typed in reply once again, and then directed his eyes up to the board.

**Y? At 4?**

**I thought it ended at 5:30, everyday.**

_Yeah._

_It usually does, but we are going to state this year._

_He wants us to have a good night's sleep._

**_Aight, I'll see you at 4:30 then_ **

**_:)_ **

_Jay?_

_**?** _

_I'm bringing Jiya along._

_She's been worried about u, since Evie and her made friends._

_**Aight**_ , _**np.** _

_**Cya.** _

Raj smiled, as he read his brother's last messages and then turned his screen off.

He he was relieved to know that Jay was alright, since Evie had talked to Jiya a couple of days ago.

He was going to be there for Jay no matter what.

Just like his big brother had always been there for him.

* * *

 

10:30 AM, Unknown Location, San Francisco, CA.

 

Wrench had been under Federal Custody for almost 36 hours, and was now about to be transportated to another facility.

**_Good! At least I've stalled them. Or maybe not...? Damn, sucks not to know anything._**

Wrench thought dismally as he sat on his 'cell'.

If that dirty little room, could be callled one.

Looking around for any means of escape, he noticed the camera was behaving strangely.

Squinting, and leaning on the cameras direction, just a tiny bit closer he realized SOMEONE had hacked the camera.

"I can use morse code" Wrench whispered, to himself.

 As soon as he said that the camera moved up and down, as much as it could move anyway. Like it was nodding.

Wrench, checked the hallway for guards and then walked to the camera.

"If I were to use morse code? How can I do this?" Wrench asked himself, in a whisper.

Wrench thought for a moment, considering his options; if whomever was hacking the camera had acess to the room's audio. He could use the wall, as he medium of communication.

Walking over to the wall, and checking for any enpty spaces; to tap his code. He thanked the Good Lord for not abandoning him.

"Alright, let's see" Wrench said silently as he knocked his message.

**_"Transport outbof San Fran. in 15. If you're DedSec come get me"_ **

After finishing his sentence, he gave the person behind the camera some time to figure out what it meant.

Minutes trickled by, each passing minute made wrench more anxious than the last.

Finally, after what felt like hours to Wrench; the camera 'nodded'.

Sitting back down in his bed, he let out a relieved breath

**_Thank you, God!_ **

Wrench thought as he patiently waited.

If whomever had hacked into that camera was going to save him; in 15 minutes that would come in handy.

* * *

 

10:45 AM, Somewhere Outside Secret Federal Operations Base, San Francisco, CA

 

A man, dressed in a trench coat and low black snapback; waited under the shadow of nearby trees.

His eyes darted around searching for any cameras or other hackable devices, that cpuld endanger his current op.

Finding that skinny looking kid, while searching for the archieve; had been sheer luck.

Apaprently, he was DedSec. So in any cases, if push came to shove no plans would be endangered.

But, first things first, he needed to get him out of this particular fix.

"Alright, transport's here; get him out" A guard called over to his comrades, over his comm.

"Roger"

Another voice replied from the other side.

A couple of minutes trickled by, and soon the kid -Wrench- was being led out by to Feds to the transport vehicle.

**_Can't get him out of there right now, gotta wait till they are moving._ **

As he waited for the transport vehicle to get clearance to leave the base, a phone calk came through his comm.

"Aiden? Found him yet?" T-Bone asked as he leaned back on a lawn chair, taking a sip of beer.

"Um... T-Bone, unlike you I'm not sitting in a lawn chair sipping beer; so yes, I found Wrench. I just gotta find a way to get him out..." Aiden replied as he kept his eyes trained on the transport.

"Uh-huh... Whatever, I told Marcus to not worry; so let's pray that the transport has an accident. So a good samaritan can intervene" T-Bone replied as he reached over for his MacBook.

"Aight, but after this I wanna meet this Marcus kid. Gotta make sure that the Californian branch is in good hands" Aiden answered as he checked fir the possible routes the transport might take.

 "You'll like him, he's a HUGE fan of you and your work" T-Bone answered as he monitored their little addition to the Galilei; which was working at the fullest of it's capability.

"They are moving him now, I'll call you back when I have got him" Aiden replied, and turned off his comm.

Not giving T-Bone a chance to even wish him luck.

After all, what he needed luck for when he had all assets necessary; on top shape.

* * *

 

11:10 AM, Bay Area, San Francisco, CA

 

**_Fuck, fucketi, fuck, FUCKKK!!!_ **

Wrench cursed vividly in his head, as he was seated between two suits.

If he'd ever seen secret service agents, these guys were.

"Make sure his cuffs are sound, boss told us not to fail" One of the suits spoke in a cold detached tone.

"Yeah, yeah. I know" The other one answered in the same tone, devoid of interest as his comrade had done.

"How long, you reckon?"

"Blume has the Congress under deadlock"

"So?"

"Gotta be careful, if can get any info out of this kid; then the Californian major wil be out of office"

"Dusan could run for major, he's got the money...."

"Money, ain't nothing. Someone is gotta stop this vigilant group, the "Moonlight Children"

"Can't he do it?"

"Doesn't have the guts"

After one of the suits commented in Dusan's lack of guts, they both fell in some sort of anxious silence.

**_They are Rookies!_ **

Wrench thought silently as he moved around a bit, to check the looseness of his cuffs.

Only to find they were iron tight.

Sighing in defeat, he sat still in seat between the two suits once again; and thought about the camera.

Someone HAD been there, listened to his code and promised to help.

But, one cannot live on promises.

So he really wasn't gonna blame anyone, if nobody came  for him.

Leaning his head back against the vans wall, he allowed himself to close his eyes only for a minute.

He wasn't worried, for himself. He WAS far more worried for his people, back at base.

Just as he was starting to slip into a half awake state, the telltale click of the suits comms brought him back.

"Roger that, sir. Will be done as soon as we are out of the Bay Area." One of them replied.

The ride went on for a couple more minutes in which Wrench slipped in and out consciousness.

"Sir!"

"What?!"

"The van is not working!!"

"What?! What the fuck is going on"

As sleep had almost overtaken most of senses, Wrench heard the squeal of tires and the crash of metal in metal, before their transport van came to a complete and abrupt stop.

At some point Wrench slammed his head against something hard, for he barely remembered the sounds of sirens and yells.

"Hey, kid! Get your ass up!" 

A voice called Wrench out to the surefce as a pair of rough hands picked him up.

"Who are you?" Wrench mumbled as he tried to stand up on his own, only to fall.

Once again the stranger picked him up, and helped him walk out of the crash site.

The both of them had barely made it out when the two cars involved exploded.

"Oh shit" Wrench groaned as he realized how much his head pounded.

"No time for oh shits, kid; gotta haul ass" The good samaritan spoken once again.

"Hold!" A police officer yelled, and Aiden cursed under his breath; but obeyed nonetheless.

The officer caught up to them.

"Sir, who is this guy?" The officer asked.

"He's my cousin, was on the car the SUV crashed" Aiden answered as he gave Wrench a sharp look.

Luckily, he was out like a light.

"Alright, what's his name?"

"Pearce, James"

"Alright, get him to a hospital"

"Will do boss"

The unnamed poluce officer left after he got a call on his comm.

"Alright, now.... I gotta get you to HQ" Aiden spoke to himself more than to Wrench.

As he set the younger man down on the backseat of his 'borrowed' Ferrari

* * *

 

1:00 PM, DedSec HQ, San Francisco, CA.

 

"Guys!!!" Josh hollered at his friends, as soon as he'd gotten to  common room, "Get your asses over here"

"What for?" Marcus asked as he stood up, but followed nonetheless. 

"It's Wrench" Josh replied, at that everyone else got up and followed Marcus' lead.

The hacker group practically bolted up the stairs to thee comic shop above.

"This Andrew Price, reporting for Fox News from the Golden Gate bridge, now if you look over to left; you'll see the place  the crash site. The Federal SUV was transporting a highly dangerous criminal, who seemingly died in the explosion; along with two other agents. Josh Grant and Hasit Deva...."

"Don't tell that...." Sitara asked dumbfounded to the rest of her friends.

"Apparently yeah..." Marcus answered, though disbelief was clear as day in his voice.

"We gotta call T-Bone he might now something" Horatio said as he pulled up his phone and started to type in the numbers to T-Bone's phone.

His friends made no reply, they continued to watch the news report in silent horror.

Horatio just shook his head and started pushing his way past the dozens of persons that had gathered at the comic store to see the news.

Finally making outside the crammed store, he made the call.

"Come on, come on. Pick up, Ray"

Horatio repeated over and over again, as he waited for Raymond to pick up in the other end.

"Yo! This is T-Bone, right now I'm not in the game; leave me a message. Peace!"

Only the voicemail answered to Horatio's prayers, which prompted him to curse loud enough so that the people in Iowa would have heard him.

Just as he was about to end the call, in a blind fury; he instead decided to leave a message. Short and to the point.

"This is Horatio, we just saw some fucked up shit in the news. Did you have to do anything with it? It's Wrench with you? Please, please call me back"

Besides hoping that Raymond would see the messages and call him, there wasn't much he could do. Besides pray.

* * *

 

4:00 PM, Berkeley High, Berkeley, CA.

 

"Here!" Marc said as he raised his hand "Open!"

Johan dribbled the ball down the field easily, and sent a precise overhead pass to Marc.

Marc jumped up to head the ball in, but was unaware that someone else had their sights on the ball as well.

Raj jumped up and headed the ball just out of Marc's reach, sending it to Joaõ who had been waiting.

"Joaõ, go!" Raj yelled over as his teammate as soon as the  Brazilian boy got the ball.

Taking off with great speed and beating several defenders, Joaõ connected the pass to Clay; whom smashed the ball through  the goalkeepers hands, and to the back of the net.

The coach nodded in approval, and blew his whistle indicating the end of the scrimmage.

After a liltle celebration from Raj's team, the Berkeley High Men's Soccer collected themselves and walked over to the bleachers, where their coach was.

"Good job to both teams, you both had sound defenses. The only mistake your team made Johan was?" Coach Westhouse asked.

"We didn't think that Raj would move down to play defense" Johan answered as he shook his head.

"Correct. So when we play State Conferences don't underestimate any player" Coach Westhouse replied gving each boy a critical look, before continuing "Go get a good night's rest; we play the San Jose Collegiates tomorrow. You're dismissed"

Raj and a couple of other boys went to get their bearings, while others, namely Johan, Joaõ, Marc, Clay and Joshua. Kicked a ball around.

"Yo! Raj! Where you off to?" Johan hollered at his friend just as Raj was heading for the parking lot.

"Home" The young Kashmiri - American answered as he kept on walkinv.

Jay was going to murder him if he was any later than he already was to their rendezvous.

"Yo! Hold up!

"Yeah?" 

"The guys wanna invite you to olay Overwatch, tonight" Johan explained as he finally fell in step with Raj.

"Man! I wish I could go" Raj replied as he pulled out his car's keys "But I gotta meet Jay in 15, otherwise he's gonna murder me"

"Shoot. That sucks" Johan said absentmindedly, as he kicked a pebble off with his cleats "Why tho?"

"He just said to show up" Raj answered witha shrug as he snet his a quick text.

"Welp. I can go with you?" Johan asked, and upon looking at Raj's horrified expression, raised his hands and explained himself. As best he could.

"I swear upon the good name and lineage of my family, that I WILL NOT GET YOU IN TROUBLE" 

"Yeah....that's what she said...." Raj answered with something between a sigh and a scoff.

"Hey! I swear I won't" Johan said giving him his trademark smirk.

"Alright, alright. I'll be pick you you up in 10. Jiya is coming with us" Raj , relenting to Johan's pleading.

"Thank thee, goodman." Johan replied in his best Shakespearian English, and then ran down the parking lot; towards his own car.

"Why do I surround myself with this kind of people?" Raj asked himself, but mostly to the heavens; as he got in his car.

* * *

 

4:10 PM, Mir Residence, Berkeley, CA

 

"Mom?" Raj called out as he entered the kitchen. His mom had just gotten home from work.

"Yes, Raj?" Pyara answered warmly as she walked over to hug her son.

"Mom, please not so tight" Raj whined as he tried to pry himself off of his mother's embrace.

"Alright, alright" Pyara relented as she let go of her son, "What did you need?" 

"Well Jiya, Johan and me have to go meet up with Marcus Darim" Raj answered as he walked after his mom, who went to check on Narain, the family dog.

"San Francisco?"

"No"

"So where?"

"Downtown Berkeley" Raj answered as he bent down to scratch Narain's head.

"Raj?" Pyara asked gently.

"Yeah?" Raj replied looking up to see his mother's eyes.

"Just be careful...I know that you and Jiya know how to look after yourselves, but..."

"Mom. I know, I promise" Raj replied with a bright smile.

"Right, then go ahead. Don't be late" Pyara said with a small smile.

Even though, she'd been married to Arbaaz for almost 25 years, she still couldn't help but to worry about her husband's and children's safety.

Not then, much less after had been exiled.

"Jiya!" Raj hollered up the stairs, "Hurry up, we'll be late at this rate"

"Jeez bhai, I'm coming down!" Jiya yelled back, as she performed an expert eyeroll.

Getting up from her desk and taking her phone and purse, she hurriedly made her way downstairs.

"Ready?" Her brother asked .

"Yeah, let's go" She replied.

Before they left they bid good byes to her mother and dog. Promising to come back in one piece.

* * *

 

4:20 PM, Gutierrez's Residency, Berkeley, CA

 

Johan yawned as he waited to be picke up by Raj, on his front porch.

This days he hadn't seen much of his Dad or of Manny, the last time he'd talked to either if them had been a couple days ago.

Thankfully his mom, was there to help him with the college applications for MIT and Berkeley. Granted more colleges had called him, but his picks where those two.

"Johan!"

A very, and I mean, very familiar voice. Shook Johan out of his thoughts.

"Huh?" Johan answered as he scanned for the source of the voice.

"Here, you idiot" Raj said as came from behind Johan, and squarely smacked his head.

"Ouch! You little..." Johan almost cursed, but stopped when he realized it was just Raj, "Oh...It's just you."

"Yeah, it's me. The Raj" Raj replied as he tried to copy Mario's accent, "Let's go, or Jay will be greatly pissed"

"Aight" Johan replied as he jumped down from his front porch, and walked in step with Raj towards the Kashmiri's car.

* * *

 

4:30 PM, Eastshore Park, Berkeley, CA

 

Jayadeep looked down at his phone, again; Evie had been blowing up his notifications. 

**_At least, my point got to Darim._ **

Jayadeep thought as he turned off the screen, and kept on looking at the horizon.

It wasn't that he was mad at Evie or anything of the sort, it was just....just that he hated being the way he was.

He hated his medical condition, he hated knowing that if he'd been stronger; he would have been able to save Dorian and Rahul.

Seeing their graves once again, made him remember them. Remeber the fact that right after their deaths, he hadn't felt any sense of self worth. Because his own  ** _father,_** had been willing to sacrifice him like a chess piece.

"Damn him, and his way of thinking" Jayadeep mumbled under his breath, as he unconsciously clenched his fists.

He'd been planning on leaving the Brotherhood for a while, but then meeting Evie had made him stay.

Now?

Now, he had NO IDEA what to do.

He didn't know if he should just leave, or stay.

"Bhai?" Raj asked as he gently placed a hand over his brother's shoulder.

Jayadeep turned around with a smile playing across his lips, he was glad Raj and Jiya had come.

"Bhai!" Jiya exclaimed as she ran to hug him.

Raj rolled his eyes, but smiled nonetheless.

"Hey, Raj. Come here" Jayadeep called out to his brother, after Jiya had finished hugging him

The 2  brothers clapped each other in the back, and Jiya asked what they were there for.

"Well...there are a couple of things, I think you guy should know" Jayadeep replied giving his sibilings an inquisitive look.

"Aight. Fire away" Raj replied and Jiya nodded her agreement.

* * *

 

 4:45 PM, Eastshore Park, Berkeley, CA

 

After a couple hours of constant struggle and hitting several roadblocks, Darim had finally been able to find Jay.

Once he'd done so, Evie tagged along. Since she wanted to apologize to Jay.

Now the two of them were sitting just outside the beach, where Jay was supposed to be on.

"Well, let's go" Darim said as he parked his car, and killed the engine.

"Umm....I don't think....I'll be capable of looking Jay in the eyes" Evie replied, as much as she hated to admit it; the possibility of talking to Jay again after what had transpired in the last few days, scared her.

After the kiss in Thorne's office, and the things she'd said to him. How could she?

Darim groaned and practically slammed his head on the steering wheel. 

**_These two ARE REAL DENSE._ **

"Look, if this is about the kiss in Thorne's office. He might just be embarrassed but, he's not gonna push you away for that, and what you said yesterday" Darim replied, keeping his head on the wheel.

"W-what?!?! How do you know about THAT?" Evie almost yelled at Darim, who just shot her back cockiest of grins.

"Raj has a hell of a singing voice" Darim replied, raising his head up "Funny thing....Jay had the exact same reaction as you"

Evie felt her face become hotter and redder than any jalapeño.

Darim chuckled in amusement.

"By the by, I meant every thing that I said about this situation. Earlier" Darim replied, now sitting up completely.

Evie sighed, but gave in. 

As always, Darim WAS right.

"I hate it when you're right, like right now" Evie said as she slowly raised her head from her hands.

"Can't help it, you and Jay are stuck with me. Much to your communal dismay" Darim replied nonchalantly.

Evie laughed, and then spoke.

"Well, I do owe Jay that apology"

"That's the way!"  Darim replied approvingly, as he got out of the car.

* * *

 

4:55 PM, Eastshore Park, Berkeley, CA

 

"So yeah, that is all....I...I'm truly sorry I kept you on the dark, about this....about my condition" Jayadeep spoke to his sibilings, his dark brown-amber eyes casted down.

Raj, only shook his head and chuckled, before he spoke; vehemently.

"Bhai, I can never get mad at you. But next time, don't even think to keep Jiya and em on the dark. About anything." 

Jiya nodded, and the took up from where her brother had left off.

"We get why, you didn't tell us anything about this; we....we just too young to understand why they had banished you, and why you had refused to kill during your blooding" 

Jayadeep smiled, he'd always felt lucky about having sibilings like his own. 

"Thank you" Jayadeep replied.

Raj smiled and Jiya did too.

* * *

 

5:05 PM, Eastshore Park, Berkeley, CA.

Darim and Evie had finally made it to the place where Jayadeep was.

However neither of them had expected he'd be with Raj and Jiya.

So, out of respect; they had kept away.

By now, Evie wanted to just go and apologize to him. She knew that she didn't have the courage to tell him how she felt, just yet.

"It's nice see Jay smile, he doesn't do it often" Darim commented, snapping Evie out of her thoughts.

"What do you mean, by that?" Evie asked curiously.

"Well, where to begin..." Darim replied, as he stopped to think about it, "Ah, yeah. Well, after Dorian's and Rahul's death, and after he watched Arbaaz let them put a gun to his head. He lost his sense of self-worth, since Arbaaz had just leaned back; when they were about execute him."

"That's why you thought..."

"Yeah. Luckily, Raj and Jiya were enough reasons for him to hold onto. They were the ones that made him feel like he was worth something." Darim replied, interrupting Evie.

After that, neither of them spoke a word.

But Evie kept thinking, thinking on how she'd become just as important to Jay as his family was.

_"He's the idot, that well... Fell in love with you"_

_**I just wish, Jay would have told me this...that way...that way, I would have never said that to him.** _

Evie thought, as her eyes refused to leave Jayadeep's lean frame.

* * *

 

5:05 PM, Eastshore Park, Berkeley, CA

 

"I want you to kill, Mir's brother" 

"Which one?"

"Raj"

"Why?" A shadowy figure asked curiously.

"Beacuse I said so." The other person, answered "Do you want Jayadeep judged fairly? By an assassin council in which Frye or Ibn-La 'Ahad won't save him from death?"

"I do" The shadowy figure replied.

"Then get it done." The second speaker, informed.

The shadowy figure got out of the car.

"Assef?" The second man called out.

"What?" Assef growled.

"Betray me and I'll gut you, like a damn fish" The second spoke, maliciously. 

"Whatever you say, Kozlov" Assef replied as Kozlov's car pulled away.

* * *

 

5:10 PM, Eastshore Park, Berkeley, CA

 

"That's your chance, Evie" Darim spoke, as he saw that the Mir sibilings had now finished talking.

"I guess..."Evie said in a half-hearted effort, but gulped down her insecurities.

"It'll be fine" 

Darim reassured her, as she took a step in Jayadeep's direction.

Evie had felt that this had to be the longest walk she'd ever done.

Jiya was the first one to see her walking over.

"Bhai?"

"Yeah" Jayadeep replied, but soon followed Jiya's motion.

It was her, 

"Evie"

Upon seeing his brother's demeanor, Raj smiled and walked alongside with Jiya; back to their car.

"Hey" Evie said nervously, she still felt buterflies in her stomach whenever she saw him.

"Hey" Jayadeep replied. 

"I....I came here to..."

"I know" Jayadeep answered as he kept his warm amber eyes on her.

"Still, I just wanted to say that.....I'm sorry for saying what I said. If I had only known, I promise....I would have never said that" Evie replied, her brilliant blue eyes casted down.

"I know that."

"Then why did you...."

"It wasn't that I was angry with you. It's just that when you said that....It made me remember my failed mission" Jayadeep replied, "That, on top of everything else; it just....came  crashing down on me."

"I'm really sorry" Evie replied, her eyes still down.

Jayadeep reached, and then gently placed a strand of unruly hair, behind her ear.

"Don't be" He replied, with a small smile playing on his lips.

Evie could feel the stupid butterflies dancing of happiness.

"Yo!" Raj called over to his brother, breaking the moment "We're going over to Tony's, wanna come?"

"Sure, why the hell not." Jayadeep replied, and then looked at Evie "Do you wanna come with us?"

"Are you asking me out for a date?" Evie asked playfully, even though some small part of her hoped so.

Jayadeep blushed and smiled uneasily, "Not really, I mean; No. I...meant"

Evie laughed at how flustered he got.

"Look, it was just a joke. You don't have to get all embarrassed about it "

Jayadeep laughed nervously at his own silliness.

 ** _Of course, she didn't mean it like that_**.

He thought, as he walked after Evie.

* * *

 

5:15 PM, Eastshore Park, Berkeley, CA

 

Assef spotted his target -Raj Mir- in his sights. If being an assasin had taught him anything, was that quick, painless kills beat the slow and drawn out ones.

Taking a few breaths to still his shaking hands, he tried to calm down.

"Mom? Yeah. Bada Bhai is taking me to Tony's. Uh-huh, yes ma'am. Okay, bye mom I love you"

Raj apparently told Jayadeep something funny, since the 23 year old laughed.

Taking another settling breath, rounded the corner and fired.

* * *

 

5:15 PM, Eastshore Park, Berkeley, CA

 

Jayadeep didn't know what alerted him of someone's presence; it might have been the way the air hit the small shrub.

Or maybe it was the sounds of the shells.

At this point, he had no idea.

He felt as if he was underwater, drowning.

The last thing he remembered clearly was Assef, his fingers on the trigger...

He'd pushed Raj out of the way, and used his body as a way to shield both, Jiya and Evie from the bullets.

Just in the nick of time.

"Jay!" Evie talked to him in an effort to keep him awake, "Jay please, don't walk out on us!"

Jiya kept pressure on the wound, the other bullets had only just nicked him.

The 16 year old, had seen plenty of wounds; but seeing this happening to her older brother......

Was terrifying, and she froze.

It had been Evie's actions; that had woken her up.

"Name is Raj Mir.......My brother......shot by a middle eastern man of 21... I don't know...."

"He's 23.."

"I don't know, but he's lost a lot of blood..."

"Eastshore Park...."

"Please do come!"

"Jay!" Evie called out to him, "Please don't fall asleep yet "

"Yet...."

**_Forgive me.....Raj, Jiya...._ **

**_I'm so...so sorry.......Evie_ **

* * *

 

5:30 PM, Alta Bates Summit, Berkeley, CA

 

"Prepare the operation room, right now" 

A young doctor, maybe 23 or 24 yelled the nurses.

"What's his name?" A paramedic, Gabriel, asked.

"Jayadeep Mir, he's my brother" Raj answered  as he kept up with the paramedic's pace.

"Age?"

"23"

"Height?"

"5'9"

"What happened?" A doctor asked, stopping Raj from going any further; and getting in the way.

"Someone shot him" Raj answered, as he tried to look past the doctor.

"Hey!, hey!" The doctor said, grabbing Raj by the shoulders, "He'll be fine. But I need to know  happened"

"Yeah, you're right" Raj acknowledged, as he calmed down.

He was aware that, Jiya was calling their parents.

"How old are you?" The doctor asked.

"17. Isn't a police officer supposed to be asking me this. Someone. Just. Shot. My. Brother" Raj replied, showing his annoyance.

"Yes. County Police are on the way" The doctor replied, then gave the 17 year old some minutes to get his head straight.

**_Of course, Berkeley's crime rate is low. So County is gonna get involved. Dammit, Darim._ **

Raj thought, as he took a couple of deep breaths to calm down.

"Alright, what do I do now?" Raj asked, a little more calmly.

"Your parents or guardians. Contact them" The doctor replied, as he took some forms from a nurse.

"My sister. She's talking to them, right now" Raj replied. He knew his mother wasn't going to take it well, his father?

He had no idea.

"Alright" The doctor replied, "Everything you can do now, is wait and pray"

Raj huffed in reply, he hated being helpless.

"Alright" The doctor replied, "I'll be leaving now"

Raj just nodded and walked back to the lobby.

Evie and Jiya were there, already.

Raj walked over to them, then plopped down on a seat, next to them.

He could see that Jiya was still shaken up, so he hugged his sister.

"Anything?" Evie asked, quietly. If she was shaken up, the she was doing a hell of a job concealing it.

"Nothing" Raj answered, then he looked at his sister, "Jiya, when are mom and dad coming?"

"10 minutes tops" Jiya replied, "Dad didn't pick up"

Raj sighed. It was unbelievable, last time he was kidnapped; this time Jay had  been shot. Both times his Dad hadn't picked up the damn phone.

What was gonna take, for him to pick it up.

The three youngsters waited quietly, in the lobby. 

Raj prayed that Jay would make it out.

Evie hoped that Darim would catch Assef, and give him a well deserved punishment.

Jiya tried to stop thinking on the way her brother's blood had looked like in the sand.

Minutes trickled by, at a snail's pace.

Nurses walked about their normal rounds.

Raj wanted to do something, anything at all.

So he got up and starting pacing, said exercise made him remember; that County police was in it now.

"I gotta call Darim" Raj said to both the girls.

"Why?" Evie asked.

"County Police, they are in it now" Raj replied, as he marked Darim's number.

"Damn it" Evie replied.

"Yeah"

"Come on, Darim pick up" Raj said to the waiting phone.

"Yeah?" 

Darim's voice came in loud and clear, from the other end of the line.

"Darim, where are you?"

"The Darkness, why?"

"Did you catch Assef?"

"Yeah, hog tied him too"

"County Police are in now, stay frosty"

"Aight, np"

"Thanks"

"Raj?"

"Yeah?"

"I told your Dad, he'll be there"

Raj didn't reply, he just ended the call.

He didn't like this.

Not one bit.

* * *

 

5:42 PM, Alta Bates Summit, Berkeley, CA

 

Raj was still pacing when both, Pyara got to the hospital.

"Raj!" "Jiya!" Pyara called out to both of her children, as she jogged towards them.

Raj stopped pacing, and Jiya got up.

Pyara hugged both of them.

When she pulled away she noticed the blood on her daughter's clothes.

"Jiya are you hurt!?" Pyara asked a little alarmed.

"No mom....this is... Bhai's blood" Jiya answered.

Evie had just left, a moment ago; to take a call from Jacob.

"Is he alright?" Pyara asked, cautiously.

"Yeah he is" Raj and Jiya replied in unison.

Pyara nodded, then walked to the front desk to check for updates on her son's condition.

The sat down with her children.

"Mrs. Mir?" The surgeon, called.

"Yes" Their mother replied.

Turning to both her children, she saw Raj nod.

Just then she went to the surgeon.

"Mrs.Mir...I got good and  bad news, so which one do you wanna hear first?" The surgeon, a tall man of about 28, spoke.

"Bad news first" Pyara answered, even though she had a feeling that hearing them would be hard.

"He's lost a lot of blood, right now...he's in coma" The surgeon replied, on his elegant Castellan accent.

Pyara just took a deep breath, and shook her head.

"And the good?"

"He's out of danger, for now. However I'll need someone whom he shares blood type and able to donate it" The surgeon spoke.

"His brother, and my husband. My younger son, he'll do it"

"I'm sorry, I wish.....I could have done something else" 

"Don't worry about it, I'm thankful for you saving my son"

The surgeon smiled a sad smile, and then walked away to get the blood transfusion forms ready.

* * *

 

6:00 PM, Alta Bates Summit, Berkeley, CA

 

Arbaaz, got to the hospital 15 minutes after his wife did.

He'd heard the whole thing from Darim and was furious.

Crossing the automatic doors into the lobby, his eyes immediately started scanning for his children and wife.

It wasn't long before, he spotted his daughter Jiya; sitting by herself. 

"Jiya" Arbaaz said approaching her, he looked her over for any wounds "Are you alright? Where's mom?

"I'm fine dad, this is just bhai's blood." Jiya replied "She and Raj left to go fill out some  forms, Jay lost a lot of blood; almost 5 pints"

Arbaaz nodded and the walked down the hallway, he didn't need directions. 

He'd gotten hismelf thrown in here enough times to know where things would be.

After some more walking he finally found the room, and the snippets of conversation he could hear, confirmed it.

"This will hurt a little, don't worry though" A young doctor replied, whom Evie and Raj has recognized as Marcello, Ezio's son.

"It's alright. I don't mind the pain, if my brother can be alrigt this way" Raj replied as he took a deep breath. He hated needles.

"You're not doing this, Raj" 

A familiar voice, stopped the doctor and Raj in his tracks. Evie stood to attention  in the corner of the room.

Raj turned to address the person whom had just spoken.

"Dad? What are you doing here?" Raj asked, since upon turning around found the speaker to be his Dad.

"I'm here to stop you from doing something stupid, your brother got himself in this. I trust he can get himself out" Arbaaz replied as he walked towards his youngest son, in a menacing manner.

Unlike his brother, Raj knew he didn't have the courage to stand up to his father the way his brother did. But always the fool, he did anyway.

"Dad." Raj replied as he got up, he was almost as tall his brother now. "Bada bhai, he didn't get himself into anything. If he hadn't pushed me out the way, and used his body as shield to protect Jiya and Evie. Jiya and me, would have been the ones bleeding out to death." 

Arbaaz considered this for a moment, then he spoke.

"You're not doing this beacuse... I will"

"Dad!?" Raj replied, "Do you really think he'll want you to?"

Arbaaz just looked at his son, confused.

"For 17 years in his life he did nothing but what you asked him to do, you were willing to let him be killed beacuse he did the right thing. You don't even realize, how much he hates himself. How much he tortures himself for not being able to save Dorian, to save Rahul" Raj explained. He didn't care if this hurt his father somehow; just like his big brother, he'd grown up looking at his father's back.

Arbaaz's eyes grew like those of a deer under the headlights.

"Just forget it Dad, I have permission to do this" Raj said to his father, as he handed him the form signed by his mother.

Arbaaz took it, and asked.

"Why?"

"Beacuse, he's my brother and I'm not going to let him die" Raj replied as he sat back down to get the transfusion started.

Once Marcello had finally put the IV, Raj spoke again.

"That's more than I can say for you"

Arbaaz walked out the room, towards the lobby. But was stopped by Evie who was leaning agaisnt the wall.

"You know Arbaaz, when I was younger I looked up to you more; than my own Dad. But it took me to meet your son, and to....know his story; to see that you weren't what others painted you as....." Evie spoke, in a cold detached tone.

"You have a son, that many fathers would kill to have. Yet.....you took away so many things from him, beacuse when you allowed others to put him down. He almost lost who he was, it were his sibilings who made him realize; that he was worth someting, since you had made it a point to him....that he wasn't."

* * *

 

More Than Ever - Lyrics.

 

We may never see the sun again  
We are living 'til we reach the end  
  
Kids on the run  
Forever young  
Finding our way back home to you  
All that we are is falling apart  
The rest is left to what we choose  
  
And after all we've been through  
On our own  
This is where I stand  
All for you  
The truth, as two  
We're stronger more than ever  
When you're gone  
I need you more than ever.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ufff....
> 
> Guys, I think this is the most badass chapter I think I have ever written....
> 
> Sorry if it was wayyy too fucking long. But loose ends had to be tied.
> 
> Anyhow, I chose the song More than Ever for this chapter beacuse I think the lyrics reflect the emotions that Raj, Jiya, and Evie have right at the end of it.
> 
> Anyhow, Jay's bullet wound is similar to the one Nick Savvrin ends up with during the first season of Prison Break.
> 
> That part as well as the low latent inhibition, were added early on as a tribute to my best friends; Jordan and Amy. (THEY ARE OBSESSED WITH P.B)
> 
> As always this was beta'd by Niraj and Arjun. 
> 
> Valentina pitched in the idea for the soccer practice.
> 
> And Joaõ was added into the mix in tribute to one of this fic's biggest fan, Dudadudix (she's Brazilian so...)
> 
> Anyhow...I hope you enjoy! And I'll catch up on the flip side


	23. Kung Fu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Feels, feels and more feels.
> 
> Kozlov raids the Assassin HQ, Wrench gets back to the DedSec fam, Jay is still in a coma.
> 
> Arbaaz isn't allowed to see Jay by his younger children, Assef gets beat up.
> 
> Raj gets super dark in this chapter :)
> 
> Kozlov gets the drop on the assassins...
> 
> The boys (minus Jay) go after Kozlo......and all shit hits the fan.
> 
> Welcome to This Is What We Started
> 
>  
> 
> (Lol sorry for the dramatic intro....been listening too way to many WELCOME TO KSHMR VOLUMES :) )

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank u sooooo much to everyone who commented in the last chapter; u sure as hell made my bday.
> 
> Thank u.
> 
> Also don't forget Hmu in Tumblr for any Henvie or Henry Green/Reader prompts you might have.
> 
> Suggestions are always apprecited.
> 
> Song: Kung Fu - Kenneth G & Maurice West

 

Chapter 23: Kung Fu

 

10:15 PM, Alta Bates Summit, Berkeley, CA

 

It had been more than four hours since they had put Jayadeep in the operating table.

Sitting out in the lobby waiting for George or her dad to call in for updates, Evie felt extremely helpless.

**_I should be in the Darkness, beating the shit out of Assef for this._ **

She thought as she kept on sitting still, while a part of her wanted to go, another made her stay; she wanted to see that Jay was alright.

Over the last few weeks so much had happened, both....good and bad.

But mostly bad things....

Raj getting shot, the argument in the warehouse, Jay dropping off the map and finally Assef shooting him.

"Evie?"

A somewhat deep voice shook her out of her thoughts and prompted her to look up.

It was Raj.

"Yeah" Evie answered, as she desperately hoped that they would let her see Jay.

"Only family" the surgeon had said. Upon asking Marcello, the young Italian confirmed it was a hospital and county policy.

"Evie....I have really bad news" Raj said, unsure of how to keep on going.

 "Well?" The English brunnete asked, she'd been somewhere in between anxious and terrified for new updates on Jayadeep's health.

"He's.... In coma, right now" Raj replied, without looking at her. He knew that if his big brother was here, he wouldn't want Evie to know about it.

The words fell upon Evie like a bucket of cold water... 

"He's....?"

"Yeah. Marcello has no idea how long he'll be on coma, might be a week or 6 years" Raj replied, he wanted to stop....to at least give Evie a little hope; but he couldn't hide things that would eventually come out.

"He lost almost 5 pints of blood, it was enough for his body to go into shutdown." 

Raj finished his sentence, in a dismal tone.

He just couldn't....just couldn't bear the fact, the boy he'd looked up to his entire life. His brother... May not wake up....ever again.

All because of Assef, and his stupid vendetta.

Evie didn't reply nor made any sound.

Raj knew why. Evie was in love with his brother.

He couldn't even begin to think or understand how she felt.

Minutes passed by in the eerie silence of the hospital lobby. The only audible sounds, their breathing and the random screech of a wheelchair.

"Can....can I see him?" Evie asked, her hands clenched tight on her lap; on an obvious effort to keep her emotions from showing.

"Yeah." Raj said as he nodded, she deserved at least that. 

"Thank you, Raj" Evie replied softly as she got up.

Raj didn't reply. 

His brother was in this because....of him. If he hadn't been there, he could have gotten out of the way and...

All too soon a hand on his shoulder brought him back.

"He would have done it a thousand times over, for you and Jiya" Evie said to him, with a small sad smile.

Then she walked away.

**_You're right Evie, but he would have done the same thing for you as well._ **

Raj thought as he watched her walk away. 

Making up his mind, he pulled out his phone and called Darim.

"I'm going, now"

* * *

 

10:55 PM, The Darkness, Uncorfimred location, Berkeley, CA

 

Raj had driven for almost 40 minutes before reaching the Darkness.

He'd made up his mind, he was going to make Assef wish he hadn't been born.

The dimly lit hallways of the Darkness inspired no fear or apprehension on him, any longer.

He had a mission, a mission he wasn't just about to let anyone else in the Brotherhood carry out.

Assef's dad was a high ranked assassin with an immaculate record. A few words from him, and all the process and paperwork would be gone in the blink of an eye.

He would be free....and that was something Raj wasn't about to allow it to happen.

"Raj"

A deep, and warm voice reached his ears.

Turning around.

His eyes fell over a shadowy figure that was leaning against the wall.

"Chirag Ahuja" Raj replied with a small grin, he'd know Chirag for almost 6 years; a good friend and a good assassin.

Chirag moved fluidly from his spot towards where the younger boy stood.

"Not expected to see you here" Chirag replied as he put his hands on his pockets "This 'visit' got any thing to do with Assef?" 

"Yeah. Where is that son of a dog?" Raj replied as he cracked his knuckles.

"Come on" Chirag replied, "I'll show you"

The two boys walked down the eerie hallways. 

Raj had no idea were the interrogation rooms where. He'd never been interested in them, anyhow....until now.

Chirag, on the other hand.... He'd been the head if the Junior Intelligence Unit of California. Also known as the Ghosts, for 2 years.

He'd earned respect amongst older peers the hard way. 

"Here" Chirag motioned to a door with his head, "Darim is already on the case, so beware"

"Thanks" Raj replied as he turned the handle of the door.

But before stepping in, Chirag's right hand took hold of his wrist, and spoke calmly.

"Remember Jay isn't someone who believes in revenge. Don't do something you'll regret" 

"I'll try to keep that in mind" Raj replied, after Chirag had let go of his wrist.

Chirag nodded, and then leaned against the wall once again.

He knew he couldn't stop Raj. But for Jayadeep's sake, he would try.

* * *

 

11:00 PM, Alta Bates Summit, Berkeley, CA

 

Evie had been sitting at Jayadeep's bedside for a couple of minutes, now.

She remembered when they had met.

It had all happened because of Ishpreeth's sheer inability to do any kind of Calculus. 

She'd been expecting almost anything, but....not falling for him. Even now it seemed unreal to her, how easily she'd fallen for Jay.

"Stupid maxims" Evie mumbled as she wiped her tears away.

Because of said maxims, she'd grown so far apart from Jacob, she'd ignored her feelings and distanced herself from Jayadeep.

Just because....of some stupid rule her father had made her take to heart.

Which she'd done so willingly, instead of fighting it like Jacob did.

It was almost unfair, how just as she was going to tell him how she **_really_** felt about him; Assef had shot him.

But what had made her even angrier, making her see how unfair and their lives were...was the fact that Arbaaz wouldn't help his son, just because of a mistake, that wasn't even his fault.

He hadn't chosen to be the way he was...he just was.

Without much thought Evie, reached for his right hand.

Wrapping her hand around his much bigger one, it surprised her....just how warm and comforting it was.

But it also reminded her, why and what she was fighting for.

* * *

 

11:36 PM, The Darkness, Berkeley, CA

 

Raj had been watching Darim beat the living shit out of Assef.

Under other circumstances.... He would have stopped Darim, way before Asset started bleeding.

But under their current predicament, he didn't care. 

But briefly wondered, if this was how most assassins felt after years of seeing others die and endless, mindless killing.

This....detachment

This....cold indifference

These things he now felt. He'd always thought he always understood his big brother better than anyone, but now he truly did.

His brother's condition...his low-latent inhibition.... It was a blessing, not a curse.

Because even though he might see horrible things in his lifetime....he'd never change.

He'd always stay the way he was, he'd always be the kind, brave and generous soul he was.

In the other side of the glass, Darim looked down at Assef's bleeding form.

How could someone have the heart...or rather, lack of. To try and shoot someone he'd used to call, brother?.

Only mindless killers, and psychopaths did, but maybe that's where the line blurred with Assef.

Clenching and unclenching his right hand, Darim walked over to the table in the room.

On top of said table there were various instruments of torture, usually when it came to Templars; most surrendered after a 15 minute beating.

"Why?" Darim asked without looking at Assef.

Assef spat some blood on the ground, before speaking.

"Why, what?"

Losing his patience at the nonchalant reply, of his former 'brother in arms'.

Darim walked back and landed a punch on Assef's jaw squarely.

"Why would you want to kill...someone YOU ever called brother?" Darim spoke, in a cold indifferent tone as he waited for the young Afghan to speak.

"The Brotherhood is corrupt and broken, he's nothing but a coward! Yet they let him live!" Assef answered.

Darim looked at him with his electric blue eyes, they were as cold as ice.

"Let me tell you. That's Bullshit." Darim replied, as he stood up straight once more.

Then walked back to the table, he'd just spotted some brass knuckles.

If Assef didn't want to talk this way...then it was time for the brass to do the talking.

"Well, if you don't wanna talk about the why. Then you will sing what you know about the Templars"

The young Syrian assassin, spoke. Before curling back his fist for another round.

However this round...would be far more painful than the last.

At least for Assef, who'd proved to be a great punching bag.

* * *

 

12:00 PM, Alta Bates Summit, Berkeley, CA

 

Arbaaz had been watching Evie and his son from the doorway.

It was true.

He deserved Raj's indifference, anger and...even hate.

In all of the six years that Jay had been in London....he'd done nothing differently. 

Both Raj and Jiya had also grown up looking at his back....the only person who'd truly ever been there for them, besides their mother...was gone, banished.

Because of him....if he'd only been man enough, he wouldn't have allowed Hamid to go that far. Maybe things would be different.

**_"After Jay turned 21...he'd wanted to leave the Brotherhood, but meeting Evie made him stay."_ **

Even after what he'd put his son through....he hadn't given a damn, about how his son felt.

_**"You wanted to make him into you"** _

After what had happened...Arbaaz had never thought he'd see, let alone speak to Jay.

But he had....and everything he'd done, was cause his son more pain.

**_"Until Jay is better....I'm not letting you see him. He's been more of a brother to me than what you will ever be a Father."_ **

Those words....those phrases. They just kept bouncing around in his thoughts.

He truly deserved it. 

Arbaaz watched as Evie gently brushed some of Jayadeep's hair out of his face.

It was a sweet, heartfelt gesture.

He could see just how much this affected her...how much this affected his other two children.

Taking a deep breath, Arbaaz entered the room quietly.

But...perhaps not silently enough, for all too soon a  pair of bright blue eyes were on him.

"What are you doing here?" Evie asked, as she wiped some tears always from the corner of her eye.

"I...came to see Jay" Arbaaz answered, it was obvious, that she'd been crying.

If her puffy red eyes weren't much evidence, he demeanor gave her away.

"I don't wanna sound insensitive, but Raj told me you aren't supposed to in a 40 feet radius from Jay" Evie replied, shifting slightly. Just so she could see Arbaaz.

"He's being unfair" Arbaaz answered, "Jay...I have a right to see him"

Evie scoffed.

How humorous, yet ironic things were.

"You agree with Raj" Arbaaz asked, his voice had a slight tone of indignation in it.

"I do" Evie replied, as her eyes briefly looked over at Jay.

"Why?"

"Jay once told me that he'd worshipped you for almost the first two decades, his life and despised you for the last five or six years" Evie answered, "You know...what I told you, I meant it"

"I know. You get that from your Mom" Arbaaz replied.

"Everything...he ever did, was to make you happy. He wanted to be like **_YOU,_** but I'm glad....I'm glad he's not" Evie said, as she absentmindedly squeezed Jay's hand.

Arbaaz chuckled lightly, before replying.

"I am too. I now know, that I don't want him to be like me. I want him to be better than me."

Evie didn't reply, she hadn't been expecting to hear that from Arbaaz.

"Listen, I know....I get why Jay doesn't want me to be in his life. So everything I'll ever ask of you, is to keep an eye on him. You make him happy, God knows that's.... something that I took away from HIM, but its also something he....truly deserves..." Arbaaz replied.

"I will. I promise" Evie replied, "But I do hope one day...he'll give you another chance"

"Thank you" Arbaaz replied, before he walked away.

**_"Maybe...one day, he'll give you another chance"_ **

  ** _I hope,_** Arbaaz thought as he walked out of the hospital room, **_and this time.._ _ **.** I'm not going to waste that chance._**

However, before fully leaving...he allowed himself a brief peek over his shoulder.

* * *

 

12:15 PM, The Darkness, Berkeley, CA

 

Darim closed the door of the interrogation room, leaving Assef in utter fucking darkness.

He was tired...sick and tired of seeing people he cared about getting shot, getting killed.

It was too much.

This fucking world...it was a damn mess, because someone would always be power hungry enough to try to enslave someone else.

"Fuck being a good Samaritan" Darim mumbled under his breath.

It were times like these that made him wish....that he was just an ignorant bystander.

"Darim?"

A voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

Looking back, his eyes landed on Raj.

"Yeah?" Darim answered, as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"I'm going in" The young Kashmiri answered.

Darim shook his head and then replied.

"Beat him to the ground if you like. It won't make you feel better"

"I don't plan to" Raj said before opening the door, and walking in.

In other circumstances, Darim might have just walked away...but there was something dangerous in Raj's tone.

So he stayed.

Raj turned on the bright fluorescent lights of the small cramped room. 

Asset hissed in discomfort, but Raj paid no mind.

He set his bag on top of the table. For a moment his eyes looked over the brass knuckles, knifes and wire on it.

However, he felt none of those instruments were punishing enough.

This.....task required  something, more lasting...more painful.

"What is this now?" Assef spoke as best as he could, considering his jaw was probably broken "Bad cop, good cop?"

"No" Raj answered, without turning "Its not. If this was up to me, I'd put the council on deadlock to have you killed; for the fucking psychopath you are."

"Such big words, for such a lil' man" Assef replied allowing for a smug grin to settle on his face.

Raj just shook his head in disapproval, before moving, to lock the door from the inside.

Darim's left eyebrow shot up in curiousity.

This was not protocol.

"Before coming here...I thought of what I would do to you if I got my hands on your sorry hide" Raj spoke, as he leaned against the table. "But I finally came up with some ideas, Let's play Russian Roulette? Or perhaps, I should play Russian Roulette and break every bone in your body as well?"

Asset's eyes grew large, just like those of a deer under the headlights.

"No, no, no, please" Assef begged as it became clear what the younger Mir was planning to do.

"I think its too late for that" Raj  replied, pulling out his grandfather's old gun, and popping a bullet in.

"Right now, I have one bullet" Raj replied, as he aimed "You might or might not...get shot. Eventually, I'll put one between your eyes"

"No, no. You do that...my father will have you executed" Assef exclaimed as he tried to get away.

"No, not if I claim self defense. Then who will the Council believe? The scumbag that tries to kill one of his own? Or the Assassin, with an spotless record?" Raj explained, as he kept his face blank. "I'll tell you who. Certainly not the dead guy, who shot point blank another assassin"

"This is not you" Assef said to him, as he tried to keep his fear under control.

Raj just smirked and then replied.

"Yeah. This is not me....for the most part anyway. But you made a huge mistake, you tried to kill my brother. Now, that....that is unforgivable"

Darim's overworked brain finally caught onto what was happening, making him bolt towards the door.

Only to remember, that it was locked from the inside.

"Raj!" "Raj!" "Open this door! Jay would NOT want this!" Darim hollered as he tried to force the door open.

"Sorry, Darim. But this is what I want" Raj spoke, as he took his aim and fired.

It was empty.

Assef felt his heart going a 1,000 miles per hour.

"Lucky" Raj commented.

Noticing that he'd never get anywhere with Raj at this rate, Darim instead went on to alert Chirag.

 

* * *

 

12:20, Outside of Interrogation Room 12, The Darkness, Berkeley, CA

 

Chirag hadn't heard the  commotion inside, he'd just popped his ear buds in as soon as Raj had walked in.

He knew that either Assef squeaked or Darim and Raj walked back with no answers, nor feeling any better.

At the moment, it seemed to him that it would be the latter.

Still...some part in him, hadn't been able to help but to notice, how quickly Raj had gone from being the good natured and kind youth he was...

To the dark....person he'd just seen.

Chirag got the reason why.

Jayadeep had been there for both Raj and Jiya more than their own father, who was either away 25/8 or just simply showed no interest. On their eyes at least.

For he'd seen the other side of the coin as well.

"Chirag!"

A pair of rough calloused hands shook him out of his thoughts, taking off his erabuds and turning slightly to his left. He saw Darim.

Something was clearly wrong....he'd never seen Altair's son so....terrified.

"What?" Chirag answered calmly.

"It's Raj" Darim answered, as evenly as he could manage "He didn't come here to interrogate Assef! He came here to kill him!"

"WHAT?!" Chirag yelled. "Stay here! I'm getting Arbaaz on this!"

Before he gave the young Syrian a chance to answer, Chirag took off running.

He had no idea if Arbaaz was even at The Darkness or not.

But he had do something... anything. Before Raj did something, he was going to regret.

 

* * *

 

 12:22 PM, Interrogation Room 12, The Darkness, Berkeley, CA

 

Assef watched in frozen horror as Raj took aim once again.

He'd never thought that someone, like Raj.... would have it on him, to ever attempt something like this

"I gotta say Assef, you're luckier that you deserve you be" Raj spoke solemnly as he looked down the barrel of the gun.

"Pity, my brother wasn't" 

This time the sound of the shot being fire sent Assef into shock, which kept him from registering the fact that he'd been hit.

Just under his left lung.

Finally realizing the extent of his injury, Assef finally snapped out of it, coughing up blood.

"No comment, I guess..." Raj spoke as he twirled the gun.

Asset just panted...he knew that unless he had medical attention in less than five hours he would bleed out.

That was...assuming that Raj wouldn't put a bullet in his brain.

Or maybe...Raj would just stay and watch him die.

At this point...he wasn't going to consider anything else impossible.

 

* * *

 

12:25 PM, Somewhere in The Darkness, Berkeley, CA

 

Chirag was running towards Arbaaz' "office" as fast as his legs would carry him...jumping over tables and other impediments, with little thought about himself.

He'd been right...he wasn't able to change Raj's mind, but at least he could stop him from doing something completely stupid.

"Dammit, shit, fuck..." Chirac panted as he ran up, yet again another flight of stairs.

**_Goddamn whoever made the blueprints for The Darkness._ **

Chirag thought as he kept on running.

He was almost there....so close.

Slowing down as best as he could...he came to a stop right before the door.

From where he was, he was just able to see  Arbaaz' looking at something.

As to say what...Chirag couldn't say, as he couldn't make it out.

Tapping the door to get the Master's attention...Chirag walked in.

"What is it, Chirag?" Arbaaz asked, raising his gaze.

"It's Raj...he's..." Chirag started, but the stopped.

"He's what?" Arbaaz asked, as he tried to keep his mouth from turning into a scowl.

"Raj's trying to kill Assef!" Chirag blurted out, unable to think of any other way to say it.

The younger man, watched as his Master's eyes filled with fear...

"Where's my son? Who's with him?"

"Interrogation Room 12, Darim is there...but he locked the door from the inside"

Without uttering a word...Arbaaz got up and then bolted out of his 'office', Room 12 his destination in mind.

Chirag barely had any down time to catch his breath, since he bolted out of the room as well....following right in Arbaaz' heels.

 

* * *

 

12:30 AM, Interrogation Room 12, The Darkness, Berkeley, CA

 

It had been a while since Raj has stopped talking, and now the young Kashmiri watched Assef from the other side of the room. It was clear the Afghan was in pain.

Yup, Assef had been absolutely right in thinking that Raj just might sit back and watch him die.

From where he was, Assef could see Darim...if he didn't know any better he would say that he looked worried for his wellbeing, but given everything..Darim was just worried for Raj.

"I thought you said you were going to put a bullet in my brain" Asset spoke, nonchalantly...he had to stay awake at any cost.

'No, I lied when I said that. For starters, you're not worth wasting a bullet...besides, killing you? I doesn't serves any purpose...but watching you suffer, that does" Raj answered, as he once again resumed his prior demeanor.

Assef wheezed a little, it was getting hard to breathe.

In that precise moment, both, Arbaaz and Chiraj barged in the room.

"Raj stop this, now" Arbaaz spoke as he watched his younger son walk over to the glass.

He had his grandfather's gun.

"Why?" Raj asked, opening his arms in an obvious display of annoyance "Is it, because everything to you its a task? An assignment? Because of people with  ** _your_** mentality, we allow psychopaths to become assassins.

Arbaaz shook his head...what had gotten into Raj.

"I know what he is. But even then Raj, ask yourself. Is this right?" Arbaaz asked,  gesturing towards Assef's bleeding form; as he tried to contemplate why his son was doing this.

"I don't care if it's right or not! I lost my brother once, because you were too much of a coward to do anything for him!" Raj answered, before turning to Assef and shooting him right bellow his right lung.

"I'm not going to let the corrupt system of the Council to let this fucker go....HE SHOT MY BROTHER! YOUR SON!"

Arbaaz, froze...he'd never seen this side of Raj.

Or maybe....it had always been there, but he'd been to blind to truly see it.

"I know Raj....I know its my fault that six years ago, you lost Jay." Arbaaz said leaning against the glass, pressing his palms into it. "It's true, I was the coward....not your brother"

Raj didn't answer, instead he just looked at Assef...the gun still on his hand.

"I'm sorry...that my cowardice took away the only person, besides your mom...that was there for you" Arbaaz continued, "If you have to get your anger out with someone let it be with me....one way or another, what has happened is my fault"

Arbaaz' words were only met with silence...but at least Raj had lowered his gun.

He was listening.

"I know...I don't have a right to ask you to not do this, but....do ask yourself. Would Jay want this to happen?" Arbaaz said, feeling a little defeated.

Darim watched in disbelief as Raj dropped the gun.

"He wouldn't...." Raj replied, his eyes cast down...in a barely audible whisper.

Arbaaz then looked at his son, all the while pleading that he could be able to protect Raj.

Minutes trickled by at an snail's pace...filled with immeasurable dread.

Nobody moved, nor said anything....the only audible sound their breathing and Assef's wheezing.

It was not long before Raj walked towards the door, gun in hand...and unlocked it.

In that very moment, Darim was filled with terror....this kid wasn't Jay's little brother, the kid that followed them everywhere, the kid he taught how to bike.

This was someone else, someone dark...soulless. However, when he looked into the boy's eyes he knew the old Raj was back.

Raj handed the gun to Chirag, and turned his back towards the Ghost Leader.

Still a bit stunned the Ghost leader immediately cuffed him, all to soon more Ghosts (drawn by the commotion) entered and dragged the young Kashmiri away.

Raj didn't raise his eyes to meet anyone's.

* * *

 

5:58 AM, Assassin Safehouse, San Francisco, CA

 

Darim entered the safehouse quietly...clearly still shaken by what had happens in the interrogation room.

After the little accident...he hadn't been allowed to see Raj. He understood the why of it.

But it didn't make better, he needed to be the for his friend.

He silently walked to the kitchen, and opened the fridge...thankfully Manny hadn't drinked any of his Red Bull.

He popped one open, and then took a swig...Manny would have probably crashed on the middle of the research, at this point everyone was burned out...

Either physically or emotionally.

But what could be expected, this was the only life they knew...Legacy Assassins; that was what they were.

The young Syrian assassin, leaned against one of the countertops for a moment introspecting...before deciding a hot shower and at least two hours of sleep were necessary.

Without much ado, the young assassin started trudging up the stairs...his immediate instinct was to just go to his room.

But something....he didn't know what, made him walk a little farther; towards the Planning Room.

He stopped at the door, last thing he wanted to deal with at six in the morning with no sleep, was a grumpy Latino. So he debated whether to go in or not for a moment or too.

Eventually Darim decided to go in, turning the knob and then cracking the door open an sliver he peered inside, but saw no light which was odd...making his hair stand on edge.

Immediately he unlocked his hidden blade, and entered the room quietly using his eagle vision to scan it.

It seemed to be clear, but a closer inspection after turning the lights on...proved otherwise.

Manny was slumped on the ground, and beside him was Jean Carlo and Alok.

Aloo and Manny were alive but out cold, Jean Carlo had been shot right on his heart and died immediately.

Immediately Darim crossed the room and started to shake away the unconscious assassins.

"Uh...what's...happening" Manny said groggily, as Darim shook him and Alok awake.

"I don't now...just got here" Darim replied, soon enough Alok came to his senses and groaned in pain. He had some broken ribs.

Manny and Alok took some minutes to come about, meanwhile Darim closed Jean Carlo's eyes and laid his coat over him.

"What the hell happened?" Darim asked after he was finished, covering Jean Carlo's body.

"Oh shit....its fuzzy" Manny said as he rubbed his head, "Oh shit, fuck, dammit....Kozlov!"

"What?" Darim asked confused.

Manny tried to get up and almost fell, but eventually he was able to walk toward the table.

"Kozlov...he came in here, killed the other guys; Jean Carlo...oh God, he shot J.C and then did something to us....God" Manny said, it was obvious to Darim that the Latin Assassin was still in shock.

By that time, Alok had gotten up with Darin's help...he seemed a little more present than Manny.

"What happened?" Darim asked, the young Indian Assasin.

"Kozlov...he killed all the guys posted outside and JC, then he knocked both of us out....and took our research" The young man replied, he was also in shock, but was having a better time managing it than Manny.

"Fuck!" Darim cursed loudly as he took in the state of the room.

He could very well say goodbye to his shower and sleep.

Kozlov was out and about...it was just a matter of time before he found the P.O.E

Evie was going to flip...when he told her about this.

 

* * *

 

8:00 AM, Alta Bates Summit, Berkeley, CA

 

Evie hadn't slept at all, at some point the doctors kicked her out of Jayadeep' room. Forcing her to the lobby.

There she'd just waited for the morning to come.....Jiya had shown up about 6:30 in the morning an the two had stayed there, in silence.

Somehow, waiting for something to happen had made Evie realize what being an assassin was...it wasn't killing without remorse, or being capable to sacrifice others.

It was...willing to be able to protect others, those who were close to you and those who weren't as well.

"My mom once told Jay something..." Jiya spoke, for the first time since she'd come in; shaking Evie out of her thoughts.

"What did she tell him?" Evie asked, turning her head to look at Jiya...her eyes were downcast.

"Jayadeep, you don't need to be a great killer... to be a great assassin" Jiya replied, "When she told him that...I didn't understand it. But know...I do know what it means"

Evie allowed the meaning of the words to sink in, after all shed seen Jayadeep do...saving the kids in Whitechapel the year before, helping Jacob save Jack from the Asylum.

"You know...I think your mom is right, Jay he's...what I think an assassin should be" Evie replied after a couple minutes of silence.

Jiya smiled, a trait apparently all of Arbaaz' children had gotten from Pyara.

"Of course you'd think that" She teased, Evie just made a face "But I do get why"

Evie nodded, once again settling for another long wait.

"You know...he probably  would want you to have this" Jiya told Evie, as she hander her Jayadeep' bomber jacket.

The one he'd been wearing the first time they met.

"How....did?" Evie started asking, but Jiya interrupted her.

"Jay told me....that was the first time I'd truly seen he was happy. When he met you"

"What happened to the other one? The one he was wearing when...you know"

"They had to cut it up, since the bullet didn't go through cleanly. To make sure so bits of cloth would be inside the wound" Jiya answered, "He bought that jacket to go with me to a Breathe Carolina concert before he left for London"

"Really?" Evie asked.

"Yes...he told me: You and Raj are the only people for who I would do this kind of stuff, I'm a Martin Garrix fan" 

"What's his favorite Martin Garrix song?" 

"I'm surprised he didn't tell you" Jiya teased, smiling. "Forbidden Voices"

Evie smiled, softly. 

However their small heaven was soon broken by the arrival of two very injured assassins. Some of the nurses that were around in their regular duties dropped whatever they were doing and helped both of them.

"Who are they?" "What's going on?" Evie asked, as inexplicable dread creped up her spine.

Upon receiving no answer she ran towards the nurses, Jiya right behind her. However before she could reach them a young doctor and another man stopped her.

Young Indian man, probably on his early twenties and caramel colored eyes.

"Stop" He told them both, as he held Evie by her shoulders.

"I won't, not until I know who they are?!" Evie answered as she tried to wiggle from his grasp.

"They are you're friends...." The young man replied, letting go of her as soon as he'd said the words "Darim and Manny"

Evie felt all the air leave her lungs.

_'No, no, no.....God please no'_

She thought as she ran towards the stretchers, in a couple of minutes two nurses stopped her but shed gotten close enough to see them.

Darim and Manny.

The same young man that had held her by the shoulders before, came out of nowhere and dragged her away.

 

* * *

 

 10:00 AM, Mir Residence, Berkeley, CA

 

The man from the hospital had driven both Evie and Jiya back to the Mir residence, as Evie swore shed find the asshole who did that to them.

 _'Fist Jay.....and then you'_ She thought looking out the window,  _'I can't lose all of you..."_

Soon the ride was over and Jiya practically fled up the stairs and into her room, closing the door loudly.

Evie just stood there on the porch.

"Come on," The man said as he gestured for her to follow him to the living room.

She did as he asked.

They sat on opposite sides of the room.

"You might be wondering who I am..."

"I don't care" Evie said, as she stared him down...the man looked down and then rubbed his neck.

"Look I get you're angry at me for stopping you, but they needed help...you would just have gotten in the way" He said, and then waited for a moment.

Evie said nothing in reply, but rather acknowledged she would have been a nuisance rather than help.

Minutes passed by...at that time Evie was sure that if wanted her dead he would have already killed her. She lowered her guard just a tiny bit.

"I lied when said I didn't care who you are" Evie said, hoping that if he were a Templar or part of Tevez gang...he'd take the bait.

"I'm Neeraj" He replied,much to her surprise "Jay's cousin from his mom's side"

"Kaur?" Evie aksed, remembering Pyara's maiden name.

"Singh" He answered, "It's a long story, but my dad is Duleep. Aunt Pyara's older brother"

"Why were you at the hospital?" The Englishwoman asked, feeling rather curious.

"Raj called me, told me he was locked up on the cells in the Darkness and made go check on you and my cousin" Neeraj said, "I didn't ask....but are you the Sher's girlfriend?"

"The who?" Evie asked raising her eyebrows in question.

Neeraj hit his forehead.

"Shit sorry, I meant Jay...but supposing you don't know his nickname; I guess you're not" Neeraj answered ending the sentence with a small shrug.

"I....I'm not his girlfriend, but...." Evie started, but then stopped.  _Should she said she liked him?_

"But?" Neeraj asked.

"Things are complicated, I- I like him...but I'm not sure if he feels the same about me" Evie answered feeling embarrassed at admiring personal things to a total stranger....

_'Not a total stranger...I do know his name....'_

"Ah...so you're the mysterious girl my cuzzo is been pining over" Neeraj said, with a light edge to his voice.

"I.....I Jay did what?" Evie asked , as she tried to stop a blush from rising to her face.

Neeraj laughed at Evie's failed attempt of containing her blush.

Eventually Neeraj's laughed died down, and Evie sat with her hands covering her face.

"Wh-What did he tell you about me?" Evie asked after she'd plucked up the courage to ask him.

"Um....well, lemme remember" Neeraj said as he scratched his  stubble "Only things like, how pretty your eyes were, or how he loved the way you smiled....other times he went into a lot of detail, and told me how much you meant to him or just how something as little as you smiling at him made him....well you know, want to be a better assassin. For you, of course....to be able to protect you"

Evie just listened....not being able to speak, only one question she asked herself.

_"Had Jay actually said that?"_

But her thoughts and answer were delayed...Darim had texted and wanted to talk to her.

"Neeraj?"

"Yeah"

"I'm gonna need you to drive me back to the hospital"

* * *

 

2:30 PM, Alta Bates Summit, Berkeley, CA

 

A couple of hours had passed by between waiting for Jiya to feel a little more stable than she was and getting some food on their stomachs.

Now she stood outside of Darim's room, holding a cup of his favorite chocolate; an speciality of Manny's grandma who'd also sent another one for her grandson.

She entered, and found Darim propped up in pillows and watching a Game of Thrones episode.

"And so Daenery's sister has appeared!" Darim said with a light tone.

"I'm not a Targeryan" Evie replied as she handed him his cup, "My eyes aren't purple, and I'm certainly not a blonde" 

"You can pass off as one since you have the same aloofness, yet can be such a short fuse" Darim replied, before taking a sip, "Man I did miss abuelita's chocolate" 

Evie smiled, she'd been watching Game of Thrones since it came out and was a teenager...and couldn't agree more with Darim.

She indeed coup pass of as a Targeryan, despite the physical differences.

"So, what did you wanted to tall to me about?" Evie questioned.

She watched as Darim's expression changed from laid back to worried, and reached for the remote to mute the TV.

"Well..." He started, his face taking a concentrated expression "While I was in the Darkness, Kozlov got the drop on Manny and other two assassins that were helping him research at the Safe House....now I don't know how Kozlov knew where it was. But I only came back to a relatively unhurt Manny and a dead guy. After that we decided to go after Kozlov...but as you see, didn't go well for us"

"What do you mean didn't go well for you?" Evie said, trying to keep herself in place instead of bolting out of the room to try and go find Kozlov.

"Eves he's got the fucking shroud, we caught up to him the San Francisco Airport...he must have traveled overnight" Darim said as he rested his head on his hand.

"Shit..."

"Exactly my thoughts" Darim said, as he stretched and took another sip.

"So what now?" Evie asked, "Where is he going?"

"He had a ticket for London" Darim said, "If he gets there uninterrupted, hell hand the damn thing to Crawford...and hell shall rain down upon us"

Evie said nothing, even though she knew he was right...she wanted to be there when Jayadeep woke up.

"Eves...you know we...can't stay till Jay wakes up; I know you want to be there...but this is our duty" Darim said softly, trying to get her to see reason.

"You're right, but please...just let me"

"I know." Darim replied, cutting her off.

Evie didn't need any more emotional hurt than she was already facing.

In a couple of hours later, Darim and Manny had been given their leave...the only thing Manny had been cautioned of, was avoiding any strenuous activities.

Something that had made the three assassins laugh out loud.

Now all that was left was for Evie to say goodbye to the boy she loved.

* * *

 

 

4:15 PM, Alta Bates Summit, Berkeley, CA

 

Evie entered Jayadeep' room, she hoped to find him up and about...ready to help her take down Kozlov.

But he wasn't awake...nor ready to help her.

He was on the bed, still on coma.

Seeing him like this...made Evie feel like somehow was wrong.

He was always smiling, willing to her and those around him.

For a moment she wondered, what if he'd asked her out? If he'd pushed away his shyness and just....

But soon chastised herself, wondering and what its were nothing but a waste of time.

She approached him, once again hoping he'd wake up and smile at her.

But he didn't.

Evie sat down at the side of his bed, and slipped her hand under his...almost as if she'd always done it.

She gave his hand a gentle squeeze... immediately feeling a pang.

_Of what? She didn't even know..._

"Jay....I" Evie started, but closed her eyes. She just couldn't do it.

She let go of his hand, and took off her necklace... her last link to a mother she barely remembered.

Her mother's necklace...consisted of the Brotherhood's symbol and a chain, both silver.

It was the only piece of jewelry, she could ever remember wearing.

She held it in her hand, for a couple of minutes..before wordlessly put it on his hand.

Then she left the room.

Shed never expected, that saying goodbye...perhaps for good to someone you love could ever be that  ** _hard._**

****

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, I'm sorry I took so long to finish this chapter...but a new fic is on the works.
> 
> Also, in other news... KSHMR HAS HIS OWN FUCKING LABEL NOW!!! And as you could have guessed I'm trying to get signed, so plz look up my YouTube Channel (IMAPK) and give some hard honest feedback on my newest song.
> 
> Also if you got IG or Sc plz follow me (I'm planning on opening a Tumblr account for my artist reach too)
> 
> Last, but not least....I love you guys :)
> 
> Also be ready cuz I'll probs be dropping the new fic today. If you don't like don't criticize it, its a lot more different than I usually write.
> 
> (Think of it, as GoT, some elements from Avatar and a lot [a lot] of KSHMR's visual story elements)
> 
> :)
> 
> Thank u for reading.  
> As I've said before, hmu with Henvie and Henry Green/Reader promps you might have 
> 
> Hugs and lots of love, Lion Army - M

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt for a friend  
> You are welcome to review and leave kudos if you enjoyed, as always respect!


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